


It Feels Better When I'm Dancing

by BGSunni, Optima_chama



Category: Dancetale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara is Clingy, Chara is not Evil!, DISCONTINUED-BEING REMADE, Dancing, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gaster was a good father, Huge levels of sin, Human/Monster Romance, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Attempted Suicide, Implied/Referenced Depression, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Oc Reader - Freeform, Other, PANGEA SIZED SPOILERS!, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is named, References to Genocide Route, Songfic, Spoilers - Undertale Pacifist Route, reader is an adult, reader is female, smut will be skippable, very slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-18 17:41:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7324555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BGSunni/pseuds/BGSunni, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Optima_chama/pseuds/Optima_chama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if, in the infinite multi-verses, Frisk wasn't the eighth child that fell? What if... It was an older girl?</p><p>Undertale belongs to Toby Fox and Dancetale belongs to teandstars on Tumblr.</p><p>Previously Titled: OC! Dancetale</p><p>Edit: I apologize for any delays from this point on, I just started college and no longer have free time like I used to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallen

**Author's Note:**

> Prologue is supposed to be short. The first chapter is actually pretty long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Undertale is owned by Toby Fox, and the AU Dancetale was created by teandstars on Tumblr. I only own the OCs and the differences to the plot. I own nothing else.

Painful black spots slowly faded away from your vision as your eye fluttered open, and you gave a soft groan as you came to. This, while normal on occasion, was actually rather unexpected this time.

Why were you in so much pain...?

Feeling the strength to just barely lift your head, your brain finally registered the sweet earthy smell flowing into your nostrils, and as you glanced down, you noticed that a bed of golden flowers lined the ground underneath you, only growing where your body had landed on. There was hardly any grass around other than that. 'Too bad it wasn't my bed of eternal rest...' You thought, feeling the well known feeling of internal dullness. 'But how did I...?' Raising your head with great difficulty and a groan of pain as a searing beat pounded through it, your head turned upwards to see a bright dot in the distance, shining light down upon your frame.

You... had fallen...?

.....

How were you still alive...?

Doing a quick once over on your body, you were appalled to see that, despite the pain, there weren't that many major injuries other than a small trickle of blood flowing from your head and an ankle that was most definitely broken, evidenced by your foot jutting out unnaturally in another direction. Looking at it made a sick feeling bubble up in your stomach (because looking at bad injuries like that was a phobia of yours), so you quickly averted your gaze and looked around the cavern you were undoubtedly trapped in. Sitting up, you noticed a path to your left that apparently led to a door. Gazing around once again at the bed of golden flowers, getting used to the bruises and cuts on your body quickly, you suddenly noticed bags laying around you. Two bags; A backpack and a duffle bag to be exact. And to be even more specific, they were shockingly familiar.

Wait a minute... The memory was coming back to you now...

With what could only be described as a war cry, you lunged for your bags filled with clothes and prized possessions, immediately cursing yourself out afterwards as painful throbs pulsed through your head and ankle, hissing angrily as you cringed. Once they had ebbed, you pulled your bags close to yourself and slowly crawled over towards the nearest wall before hefting yourself up onto your good leg, nearly biting your lip clean off to keep from screaming in pain.

Hopping pitifully forward after slinging your bags onto your shoulders, you used a hand to stabilize yourself and hobble down the small cave path towards the entrance of another eerily dark room. Gazing around with narrow eyes, you couldn't help but wonder if anyone else took shelter down here seeing as the cave system looked unnaturally made-

"Howdy!"

Freezing in place at the sound of the cheery voice hitting your ears, your head whipped around to try and find the source of it, and finding nothing. What the hell? Who could have...?

"Heh, down here buddy!"

Your head turned almost robotically downward, you were unable to stop your jaw from dropping as your eye fell upon a flower, who seemed to be bouncing to an invisible beat.

And had a face.

And was fucking _talking._

...Perhaps the injury to your head was more serious than you had originally thought...?

"Hey there! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" _'How original,'_ You couldn't help but think as you held back a sound of amusement; You were lucky you had experience on learning how to keep your real thoughts to yourself. You had to hold back what would have probably been seen as a rude remark.

You would never understand why, but being around someone who sounded like they would spontaneously explode into rays of sunshine when you were having an all around bad day was a sure fire way to make you feel worse.

And despite being taught to always be polite, doing so now didn't seem like the best time...

"Could you... tell me where I am?" You asked in your usual dead tone reserved for family and strangers, and noticed his grin slip just a bit.

"Well, this is the Underground! I guess you're new, aren'tcha?" Underground...? "Someone will have to teach you how things work around here!"

"So... The Underground, hm?" Your next words could not be stopped, no matter how much you would have wanted them to be. "Is that another name for Hell? Because with my luck, I wouldn't be surprised if that's where I ended up."

It was almost amusing to see him try to keep up that cheery look at your words.

"Depressing! Anyway, since you don't know the rules, I guess little ol' me will have to teach you!" If your expression wasn't already blank, it sure became so in that moment. Tired of trying to balance on only one foot, you carefully held your bad foot high up in the air in front of you before sitting down in front of the talking vegetation. He gave a curious glance at your foot before continuing on.

"Ready? Here we go!"

Unable to do anything more than blink, you couldn't help but gasp as you felt a sudden sharp tugging at the center of your chest followed by a deep emptiness you had never felt before. At that moment, a heart that shone different shades of gray appeared and began floating in front of you, light pink streaks caressing and swirling around the circumference of the glowing object.

It was the most gorgeous thing you had ever seen.

Hearing a soft confused sound, your attention was once again caught by Flowey who seemed to be shaking his head before continuing on. "See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!" A sudden feeling of panic made the pink streaks floating around the heart begin to move faster in agitation; If that was your SOUL, it definitely shouldn't be on the outside of your body.

"Oh cool, didn't know I had one." But of course, you weren't going to show your upset. Damn your smart-ass mouth.

Flower gave you an interesting look before continuing on. "Your SOUL starts off weak but can become stronger if you gain a lot of LV. What is LV, you ask?" Didn't really ask, but whatever. "Why, LOVE, of course!" Ooh, more originality; You were just loving this. Gripping the straps of your bags tighter, you began to wonder if this little flower had a point.

"Down here, LOVE is shared through... little, white... 'friendliness pellets'." The fuck? Friendliness pellets? And what was with that hesitation?! You watched as small white pellets started to float around him. "You want some LOVE, dont'cha?" This little flower was starting to sound very suspicious now... "Don't worry, I'll share some with you! Now move around! Get as many as you can!"

_Fuck that!_

With hardly any thought about it, you quickly bent back and watched the white bullet looking objects speed past the area where your SOUL had been and watched as they dissipated from sight as they passed. "Hey buddy, you missed them." Sitting back up, you realize that Flowey's happy grin morphed into more of an irritated smirk. "Nice, though. You'll fit right in down here." Your brow furrowed as he snickered. What? "Let's try this again." _'Nope. Fuck you, Flower.'_ You once again dodged the incoming pellets by quickly sliding to the left, keeping a blank, suspicious eye towards Flowey. Something was very wrong here; Your instincts were going crazy.

"Is this a joke?" This opinion was further verified by the fact that Flowey seemed to be getting really pissed off... "Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS- friendliness pellets!" You bristled; Your intelligence was one thing you felt genuine pride in, and he just insulted that like there was no tomorrow. You had heard that little slip-up.

Mustering up the scariest glare you could manage, such ire flared up in your soul that something amazing had happened.

Without even thinking about it, you had placed your hands on the ground in front of you and popped up using all your strength into a handstand and then a flip, hearing the tiny bullets whiz by below your head. Landing on your good foot, your eye widened as you realized how graceful that was... Until you wobbled and fell back onto the ground.

Well... You've never done that before. You had never considered yourself graceful.

Ignoring the dizzy feeling in your mind, you froze as you looked back up to see an utterly demonic smile on Flowey's face.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?" Well, well, all that sugar and honey quickly turned to salt and vinegar. "You just wanted to see me suffer."

Hearing more bullets come into existence, you looked around, your eye widening as you saw white death pellets surrounding you from all sides.

There was no escape.

"DIE."

Gritting your teeth, but refusing to show fear towards your impending doom, you glared as the flower began to cackle sadistically, the pellets slowly closing in. 'Well... At least the pain won't last much longer...' You thought, closing your eye in resignation.

And at that moment, interestingly enough, you heard Flowey give a yelp. Your eye flashed open to watch Flowey disappear into the ground, taking all the pellets with him. A wisp of smoke floated through the air as he left, making you give a blank blink.

'Really Life? Really? Won't you even give me blissful death? Must you tell me constantly to go fuck myself?' You grouched inwardly with a deep sigh, before perking up at the sound of a motherly voice.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such an innocent youth..." Blinking once again, your jaw dropped in awe to a see a goat woman walking towards you on two feet, clothed in the most beautiful and elegant violet dress you had ever seen. Stopping in front of you, she gazed down on your form with the kindest scarlet eyes. "Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel. Caretaker and Guardian of the RUINS. Are you hurt...?" You couldn't help but stare as she knelt next to you and looked carefully over your body. It took you a moment to register that she had asked you a question, and as you nodded in response, she gave you a worried look.

"Your head seems to have taken a good knock, my dear... And you've broken your ankle. I can heal you, but I must set your ankle first, so it can heal properly." You shivered; You may not have gotten an injury this bad before, but you had heard that this was going to hurt, BIG time.

Watching her large furry paws hover over the nauseating injury, you blanched further at the thought of pain, even as the disconcerting empty feeling in your chest as your SOUL took its rightful place again.

Oh no...

Seeing your expression, the woman hurried to reassure you. "I will numb the pain as soon as it's set, and then heal it, alright? On three." Biting your lip, a soft whimper left you despite the irony, but you still gave a nod and braced yourself as she grabbed your foot.

"Alright, my child... Ready? One. Two. Three!"

_Holy shit!!_

You were very sure you had never heard yourself scream so loud. Even thought Toriel had completely kept her promise, the intense pain left you so dizzy and faint, it was a wonder that you were still conscious.

"Very good! Now I can heal all your other injuries."

A protective and oh-so-wonderful feeling of calm washed over your form, and you had to stop a moan of bliss from escaping your mouth. Blinking away the bleariness from your eye, you looked at your form in awe to see all the bleeding scrapes and bruises absolutely nonexistent. Your head felt wonderful, and while there were some scars, you knew that was all from before the huge spill you had taken. Your wide gaze turned to Toriel as she smiled and helped you to your feet. "You see, my child, I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down."

Tentatively taking testing steps on your once broken ankle, you deemed it safe enough to walk and watched her in shock. Just exactly what was the Underground...? "You are the first human to fall down here in a long time." Her genuinely kind smile made your gaze soften. Why wasn't your mother ever like this...?

"Welcome to the Underground, Realm of Monsters."

.....

_WHAT?!_

"If you would follow me, my child, I will guide you through the catacombs." Trying to think straight through the shock that Monsters were real and staring up at her fanged smile (you were pretty tall for a girl, but she was taller), you shouldn't help but wonder at the immediate acceptance and affection towards you; Were all monsters like this? "Shall I take one of your bags for you?"

Now, at this point, you had a choice.

Reject the help of the person who saved you, and try to find a way back to the surface, probably dying in the process.

Or Stay with the pretty goat woman that had shown you more kindness than anyone ever had, including your family.

It wasn't a very hard choice. The surface only held one thing for you anymore, and that apparently wasn't enough.

So, putting on the biggest smile you could muster at that moment, you finally spoke. "Thank you, Miss Toriel... Please pardon my rudeness. I am Olivia, and it is a pleasure to meet you."


	2. Apathy and a Tu-Toriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia explores the RUINS and finds a ghost.

With Toriel leading you forward and holding your duffel bag, you took the time to turn a curious eye towards your surroundings, humming softly and appraisingly gazing at the rather interesting architecture of monsters. It was rather good; Simple, yet appealing to the eye.

Art was a passion of yours; Practically all types (though you weren't as partial to acting as you used to be), so you had a critical eye for all things falling into the artistic category. That was why you were carrying your backpack instead of your duffel bag. All of your drawing and writing things had been tossed in there before you ran from your surface house. The duffel bag just held clothes and electronics; Your art was much more important in your opinion.

"Olivia, my dear, please keep up." Snapping out of your thoughts, you gave a soft sigh before running to try and catch up with her as she disappeared up a set of stairs and through a dark hallway. Your head tilted to the side as you searched the large entrance with your eyes, and began to move forward before something caught your eye upon a pile of crimson leaves.

A violet spark seemed to be floating above the dying leaves.

Frowning, you cautiously moved towards it. 'What is that...?' Glancing once towards where Toriel had gone, you shuffled quickly forward to stand in front of the twinkling object, and lifted a wavering hand in order to gently tap it.

This action caused a black screen like menu-looking thing to appear in front of you without warning, making you jump as white text began to scrawl across it in a linear fashion.

 

***The shadow of the RUINS looms over you, like the consequences of your previous actions that led you here.**

**But you are filled with Apathy.**

 

 _Whoa, hold up, what?_ Your head whipped around to look for the owner of the voice. After Flowey's bullshit, you were put on edge of voices with no known owner. A childish voice had read that to you; Where had that come from...? Looking around with a furrowed brow, your attention was once again caught as that white text disappeared and more took its place.

 

***Will you _save?_**

***SAVE   DO NOT**

 

Officially freaked out, your frown deepened as your eyes suspiciously stared at the screen, which was read once again by the voice.

_Save what...?_

"My child, are you coming?" Looking back towards the doorway where Toriel's voice came from, you began to panic just a bit.

"Y-Yes, I'm coming!" Feeling hurried now, you quickly tapped the word SAVE for no reason before bolting towards the entrance, not even seeing the text and screen disappear.

_What are my chances that this will NOT mean anything to me at all...?_

_..._

_Probably pretty slim._

* * *

 

'Okay, so there are puzzles everywhere in the RUINS... I wonder why monsters like puzzles so much...' You thought to yourself with a quiet hum, walking behind Toriel and watching her regal violet dress sway from side to side. 'She must have made that herself... Maybe she'll teach me how to make clothes since I'll be stuck down here for probably a long while...'

"Now, my child," You stopped as Toriel turned to address you, feeling a small stroke of shyness at her motherly face, "As, a human living in the Underground, Monsters may attack you." Her expression turned tense, making your own frame stiffen slightly. You had never even heard of Monsters instead of in fairy tales; How could Monsters and Humans have vendettas against each other...? Perhaps the government was hiding this from the public. That wouldn't be surprising. "Fighting with monsters is not like typical fighting at all, for monster magic focuses entirely on dance." Freezing in place, your gaze stayed glued onto her form as she continued her explanation. "When a monster confronts you, they will challenge you to a dance-off of sorts... You and the monster you are fighting will take turns in a battle. Your soul will leave your body and become vulnerable, and you must try to dance along to your opponent's style in order to avoid giving them openings to attack your SOUL. Mainly, you will have a choice to either FIGHT or show MERCY. You may also ACT. Talk to the opponent, and stall for time, I will come to resolve the conflict."

Her words were barely registering at this point as undiluted joy rendered you stationary.

Dancing.

One of the very things that gave your life meaning.

That was how the worldhere  _worked!_

Oh god... What had you done to deserve  **Heaven**?!

"R-Really Miss Toriel...? You're not pulling my leg here? I-I love dancing!" You were sure your single silvery-blue eye was glittering happily up at her. Your other eye was not functional, and therefore you hid it behind long silvery bangs. She blinked at your expression before you noticed a slightly pink blush under her fur as she smiled at you.

"Well... Yes, my child; Every monster has a main dance that is unique to them. No two monsters dance exactly the same." You tilted your head to the side curiously.

"Oh...? If it's not too impolite to ask, Miss Toriel... What is your main dance?" You ask softly, moving to stand beside her as she stopped.

"Why, the waltz, my dear." You couldn't help but grin; Her dress made a lot of sense in that respect, despite the elegance of a queen.

"Maybe we can dance together someday then. I'm pretty sure I'll be staying here for a very long time anyway."

Her smile was bright enough to rival the sun.

* * *

 

After talking with a dummy, solving a few puzzles, and watching Toriel glare at a poor Froggit until it went away when it had curiously started a dance battle with you, you walked along beside her with a small smile in spite of yourself. Despite the puzzles being ridiculously easy, you couldn't help but admit to yourself that her motherly praise was something that you had completely missed out on with your mom and you enjoyed it immensely. Having to catch yourself as she came to a sudden stop, you then noticed that you both had come to a corridor that seemed terribly long.

"My child, I'm afraid that I must now ask a difficult request of you." Frowning, you glanced over to her as her tone turned completely serious. "I want you to walk down the corridor... By yourself." You gave a languid blink, confused as to why asking this looked physically painful to her. "Forgive me for this."

Then she suddenly rushed down the corridor and disappeared.

The _hell?_ What was going on...?

Shrugging to yourself, as you thought this couldn't possibly get any weirder anyway, you began to stroll down the corridor with a soft hum, completely relaxed and ignoring the eerie feeling hanging in the air.

That is until you heard the quiet clatter of rocks tumbling behind you. With your regular neutral frown on your face (no idea as to how that was possible, but with you, it was), your expression broke and your eyes widened to catch a glimpse of a certain smirking flowery weed sinking back into the ground as he noticed you had spotted him.

 _Holy shit,_ that bitch was  _following_ you.

"Nope! All aboard the Nope Train, leaving Screw This Square and heading to Fuck That Central~!" You sang to yourself as you turned around and began to gain speed down the hallway. It wasn't exactly a run, oh-no, you didn't care enough for that.

But youdefinitely weren't _walking_.

It wasn't long after that you had reached a gigantic pillar, and you were slightly winded, leaning against said pillar to try and calm your agitation. If asked, you would forever deny to your grave the squeal of fright you released when Toriel's voice had come from behind the aforementioned pillar.

"Greetings, my child. Do not be afraid, I did not leave you." Looking up in shock, Toriel came out from behind the marble obstruction and took your hand into a big fuzzy paw. "I was merely hiding behind this pillar the whole time." Yeah, no shit.

"I did not wish to do this, but there was an important reason for this exercise; Testing your independence." You were tempted to give a deadpan expression but held back the urge out of respect.

But seriously? You were almost twenty years old!

"You see, I have some things I must attend to, and you will be on your own for a while, so I must ask you to wait here." Holding back from twitching too much and giving yourself away, you watched her smile before an idea seemed to come to her. "Here my child, I have an extra cell phone on hand. You may call me should the need ever arise." She dug her hand into a pocket that you didn't even know existed in that dress of hers (which made it ten times cooler in fact), and pulled out an absolutely ancient looking cellphone before handing it to you.

It looked like the mix of a block phone and a flip phone... How was that even possible?!

"My number is already in there. Be good, alright?" Deciding to just nod and roll with it at this point, you watched as she turned and disappeared through the next doorway.

Patience was not a virtue you regularly held, and after waiting for five minutes and getting a phone call from Toriel saying that it would take even longer than expected, you decided to just say 'screw it' and walking along the way she went.

_Curiosity was your besetting sin, after all..._

You stepped  _one_ foot into the next room before your phone buzzed, making you sweat nervously as you answered it and lifted it up to your ear.

"Hello, this is Toriel. You have not left the room yet, have you?" Holy shit, how did she know?! "The next few rooms are filled with puzzles and could use some explaining. Trying to do them on your own would be rather dangerous. Be good alright?" You heard the click of her hanging up her phone, and not knowing what else to do, just put it back into your sweater pocket with a blank face.

"Okay, well... What to do...?' You thought, looking around with a thoughtful frown. It was then you caught sight of another violet spark floating over another patch of red leaves once again, and gazing around to see that you were alone except for a lone Froggit, you approached it and curiously began to inspect it.

"Hmmm..." Narrowing your eyes, you gently tapped it and once you did a small pressure began to build in your mind, making you grip your forehead and groan softly as the black rectangular screen with white text appeared once again.

 

***Crunching through the leaves makes a warm feeling spread through your heart as a memory comes to you...**

 

There was that childish voice again. You frowned as you lifted a hand to your heart and a memory indeed filled your mind. It was about Autumn on the surface, your second favorite season. But... the more you thought about it...

 

***It's painful. You are once again filled with Apathy.**

 

You blinked. The voice that was most definitely not yours was in your  _head._

 

***Will you save?**

_Where was it coming from?!_ Were you finally losing yourself? Was  _that_ it? You would have thought that would have happened YEARS ago! Other than the brief panic attack, you wondered if a child was somehow connected to you from somewhere. A familiar, soft feeling bloomed in your chest. Children was definitely a soft spot of yours, and couple that with the fact that you were an Empath despite your emotionless nature, you were immediately worried for the child's wellbeing.

***Will you SAVE or Not?**

My, my, a rather impatient child at that. Taking another glance at your surroundings and not seeing a single child, human or monster, you sighed at the craziness life seemed to saddle you with as you tapped the SAVE option.

'I wonder what it is I'm saving...' You thought with a soft hum of curiosity as the screen blipped out of existence.

_Ribbit, Ribbit..._

Blinking at the soft croaks, you looked down and spot that Froggit from before looking up at you from your feet. Seeing that it wanted your attention, you knelt down so it wouldn't have to strain and listened as it began to talk to you. But...

'I can't understand anything...' You thought in exasperation, just hearing 'ribbits'. 'If I could sweatdrop, I would right now.'

At that moment, you heard a soft sigh in your mind before the childish voice from before spoke.

 ***(Excuse me, human...)** Your eye widened; Was the voice...  _Translating...?_

 ***(I have some advice for you for battling monsters...)** Nodding rapidly, you gave them an encouraging look.  ***(If you ACT a certain way, or FIGHT a monster until you almost defeat them... they may not want to FIGHT anymore. If this happens, please... Use some MERCY, human.)** Smiling brightly, you gave a thumbs up and watched as the Froggit hopped away with the satisfaction of getting its message across.

.....

'Well! Since I would have never understood otherwise, I am quite obligated to say this... Or well, think it.' You thought as continued along with a weirdly pleasant skip in your step. 'Thanks, strange disembodied voice in my head!'

There was silence for a bit, and you began to wonder if they had left before they spoke once more.

***......You're welcome.**

* * *

After wandering around, flipping switches, avoiding spikes and  _holyhellatalkingrock-_ , you had just stumbled through another puzzle and took a deep breath. The voice was pretty silent, although they totally helped during fights; They told you outright how to spare monsters if they knew, that was awesome! Smiling as you thought back on the dance battles you recently had, you walked along, listening to the playlist from your iPhone 6s.

You weren't giving that baby up for the world, even if there was no signal possible down here. Music kept you sane sometimes.

And it was at that moment that you came across a ghost, lying across a patch of leaves.

A real ghost.

.....No, seriously!

It seemed peaceful, so you weren't going to bother it, but... It was blocking the only narrow pathway.

Carefully approaching the ghost, you leaned quietly over it, blinking curiously. It seemed to be sleeping...

_zzzzzzzzzzzzz....._

_zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......_

_(are they gone yet?) zzzzzzzzzz...._

Or, uh... perhaps not.

***The ghost just keeps repeating 'z' over and over and pretends it's sleeping...**

'Thank you so much for the input, V.' You gave a sarcastic thumbs up in reply as you gave the voice in your head a temporary name, and heard a small giggle in response.

 ***No problem.**  

_Ooh, cheeky little..._

Even with the sass, you were unable to keep a smile off your face as you had made the childish voice laugh. Staring down at the ghost, you gave a despairing sigh. 'I have no choice, do I...?'

 ***Unfortunately, no.** You rose a brow, as this was the first time they had ever tried to keep a conversation going with you.  ***Move it by force?**

'Yes.'

And so, you entered your first true FIGHT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a nice start, I believe. Author Optima here! This story will also be put up on DeviantArt (where I will also be putting up some drawings I've made for this story), and possibly Tumblr! DeviantArt name is Optima-chama!
> 
> Please give Kudos and Comment! Tell me if I made grammatical errors or you think I need to work on something. R&R!
> 
> Ja ne!


	3. Ghost Fight and a New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia has her first boss fight, and some dark memories surface.
> 
> SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING! BE AWARE!
> 
> The memories are dark, like much darker than I expected as I was typing, so if you can't handle it, I'm putting asterisks where the soft hearted can see them and skip the scene.

As the stunning gray heart was unceremoniously tugged from your chest, you shivered as a void-like feeling once again took the place of where it was  _supposed_ to be. Something told you that you would never get used to that feeling. You noticed cracks highlighted as your soul pulsed with light at a growing beat, unsettling ultraviolet light spilling from said imperfections. It sure told you that it was yours, making you calm and quiver anxiously at the same time.

Quirky sounding music began to caress your ears, starting softly but then getting louder as you blinked in confusion. While weird, it sounded awesome, and you couldn't help but hum to the melody as you looked around for the source of it. 'The hell is that coming from...?'

Having never liked the feeling of confusion, you wracked your brain for answers and noticed that as the ghost floated closer, the music grew in volume before staying constant as they stopped.

'So it's coming... from the ghost?' Eyes wide, you nearly jumped as V gave a happy cheer in your head.

***Here comes Napstablook.**

The ghost began to sway side to side in sharp, yet graceful movements in time with the music and you stared in awe before it hit you.

'Holy shit... This is  _swing_ music! So Napstablook here must have Swing as his main dance! Like Miss Toriel's is the waltz!' Absolute excitement began to shoot through your veins at the sight of a new monster, who you could tell was a bit stronger than the others you had already faced. 'With the others I didn't have to try very hard, but this one... Miss Toriel said I had to conform to their dance on their turns. He dances Swing while I dance mainly Ballet and Hip Hop... Hopefully this isn't too hard.' Wanting to be prepared, you checked his stats.

***Napstablook 10 ATK, 10 DEF**

***This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor...**

"oh, i'm REAL funny..." Napstablook drawled in a sad, dreary tone before his swaying began to take form, and as he spun to the beat with sharp emotion, teardrops flowed from his eyes and fell towards your soul.

'Shit!' Moving on instinct, you twirled and twisted in a manner that would have probably been painful for those who weren't used to doing it, and squeaked as you had to perform a split in order to dodge the last offending object. Your eye was wide, as this was a bit more intense and speedy than what you had witnessed so far. 'I-I almost let my guard down...'

Realizing it was your turn, you didn't even spare the fight button a glance as you twirled forward and touched MERCY, dismayed to find that the word 'spare' wasn't yellow.

You had noticed a pattern of sorts at this point; If you could end a battle with a monster peacefully, the 'Spare' option would be in yellow text rather than white, just like their name.

Since it wasn't right now, that meant you had to ACT in order to be able to spare a monster first.

Doing a pirouette and flipping to the side to press the ACT button, your eyes searched the options as you made sure to keep dancing.

 _Threat?_ Now that would be quite rude... You were the one bugging him!

 _Flirt._ NO. NOPE. You  _fucking_ refused... You were never going to flirt unless you actually  liked a person... And you highly doubted that would happen anytime soon.

 _Cheer..._  Better than nothing!

Doing a slide to change from Ballet to Hip Hop with ease, you tapped Cheer.

***You gave Napstablook a patient smile.**

Blinking in shock, you realized that V was right. You smiled without even noticing you had done it.

Huh. That was new...

"heh..." Shimmying away from the incoming tears, you felt yourself wince as a crack in the ground made you stumble and a tear hit dead center upon your soul.

"Agh...!" Quickly recovering, you clicked your tongue in irritation as your health dropped 4 points before pressing 'Cheer' once more.

Before you could stop yourself, you were speaking.

"What do you call an attractive nerd?" After a small pause, you continued. "A-dork-able."

......

Holy hell, you had just made a pun.

***You told Napstablook a little joke.**

"heh, heh..." You lurched back in shock as gray words appeared in front of your soul, but they weren't hurting you...? Blinking, you began to read before it disappeared. 

_Not feeling up to it right now, sorry..._

Eh? So he wasn't... going to attack you anymore?

Well, since it seemed to be working... After a tight toe spin, you tapped 'Cheer' once again.

***Napstablook wants to show you something.**

"let me try..." Blinking with interest, you watched as his tears suddenly began to defy gravity and floated to his head where it began to form. "i call it 'dapper blook'..."

No way.

His tears had formed into a top hat.

No  _fucking_ way!

"do you like it...?"

***Napstablook eagerly awaits your response.**

You didn't even hesitate at this point.

"That's awesome!!" You cheered excitedly, curiosity and awe running rampant in your gaze. When it came to general education, Science was hands down your favorite subject. But science class had  _nothing_ on  _this!_

"oh gee..." The music faded quickly as your soul returned back to its rightful place, and you couldn't help your gigantic grin as he floated back to give you space. "i usually come to the RUINS because there is no one here... but today i met someone nice..."

'Nice'...? No... No, that wasn't it... You just didn't want to hurt anybody... You had only one friend on the surface, so you couldn't have been  _that_  nice.

Even as you told yourself this, you had sorta turtled your face into your hoodie to hide the blush and unconscious smile blooming on your lips as he tittered anxiously.

"oh, sorry, i'm rambling again... i'll get out of your way..." He faded away as you waved goodbye enthusiastically, and you strolled along as you giggled to yourself.

A ghost with social anxiety. That was absolutely precious...

You came to an abrupt stop as that tender thought hit you, blinking. Now  _that_ was strange.

Positive reactions from you came few and far between. It was either indifference, quiet disdain, or anger in varying degrees. There were only a few things that garnered happy reactions from you in this world, and other than plants, kittens, and puppies, living organisms were not usually one of those things.

Until now, that is, and that realization had a cold uneasy feeling settle into your stomach.

But, as it was... Other than that flower, every monster you had met treated you so kindly... Not with suspicion.

Not with hate.

Not like on the surface.

So, you really couldn't help but retaliate in kind. Despite the slight edge in your actions from your inability to trust people so easily, you saw no reason to be rude or hateful if no one was treating you that way.

But then the thought hit you...

Why where these wonderful beings underground instead of on the surface...? Did they prefer that? Even though you liked the dark, you liked the feel of sunlight on your skin every once in a while; Were they not the same?

 ***Olivia... We should keep moving. Just standing here is begging to be attacked.** Hearing V's voice speaking quieter than they had before, it made you notice their tone was guarded. Hmm... Wonder what that was all about... V could read your thoughts and emotions you had noticed...

"Very well V..." You mumbled softly with a sigh before moving forward. Perhaps Miss Toriel would explain...

* * *

***You have GOT to be kidding me, Olivia.**

"I assure you I am not V." You mumbled with a small grin at their annoyance. The subject matter of their ire was over the fact that you realized you were hungry right as you had seen a bake sale... Being run by spiders. Never being one to be picky, you had inquired as to the price, and seeing that you didn't have enough for as much as you had wanted, you literally had just stood around the corridor and waited for monsters to attack you, spared them, and saved up enough GOLD from the battles to buy goodies from the bake-sale.

V, on the other hand, while thinking you were nice to waste all that time to just to earn enough GOLD to buy enough spider donuts and cider to fill up your inventory, thought it was absolutely disgusting to eat pastries made up of spiders.

You would have thought so too. But it was pastries and cider.

Food was your weakness. As was sugar.

It was a double threat; There was no escape.

Plus, you'd try anything once. And this wasn't bad at all. As long as the spiders were dead, cooked, and not poisonous, you were fine. Truth be told, you'd probably come back for more later.

Damn your sugar addiction.

Talking to a Froggit that absolutely confirmed your suspicions of what a yellow name meant, you continued forward through puzzles cheerfully, listening to V and their tips before you ended up at a crossroads that was completely littered with crimson leaves. Heading straight first, you could feel your face light up as a Froggit explained that Toriel had just come from a room that way, and so you shot towards it with a grin, curious to see what exactly she had been doing.

Hm.

All the magic surrounding you must make you sentimental. You were never this... showy with your emotions.

You hoped that maybe that would change back to normal once you had remained down here for a while. The thought of you not being able to hide your emotions when you needed them to made you a bit uncomfortable.

Peeking inside, you were disappointed to see literally nothing around, not even a Whimsum. Sighing softly, you blinked as you noticed something gleam dully out of the corner of your eye. You approached the object, curious, but as you got a better look at it, you froze a few feet away and your blood ran cold.

***It's a toy knife.**

Oh... Oh god...

* * *

 

**~~*WARNING! IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF ABUSE, DO NOT READ!*~~ **

* * *

_You huddled yourself into a tight ball inside your closet, your filling out fifteen-year-old body shivering as your eyes remained wide and unseeing towards the shut doors of your closet._

_Your parents had had another screaming match in the living room. It was one of the uglier nights. As a wealthy family, trying to keep up 'prep and prim' appearances for those watching were taxing. Their indulgences-their sins-beckoned for them to darken their souls even more than they already had. Each time they would answer in their indulgence, but when it came time for them to put their masks back on for the public, it got harder and harder for them to take. They needed outlets to take out their despair and rage on. Sometimes, shouting at each other until they lost their voices was enough. But they were becoming jaded to this._

_You were becoming the next best outlet._

_It was just you. They treasured all of your siblings, but it was like they had decided in private that you were the one that deserved their wrath. At first, they would yell at you for some minor thing, vulgar words and expletives spewing from their mouths until you cried. They wouldn't stop until they saw your tears; It was some sort of sick release for them, to watch you weep. It hadn't occurred to them, as they forced you to take acting classes during the day, that your tears soon became fake as you got used to the verbal assault. Perhaps though, they caught on when they had unexpectedly shown up at a play of where you played the Phantom in a more kid-friendly version of Phantom of the Opera, and bitter sobs wracked your frame as you saw your Christine in the arms of another man._

_It was at that time they began to use other methods to see your real tears._

_Even through you knew that hiding would just make the backlash worse, you didn't want them to gain the satisfaction of seeing you tremble in terror, knowing they were coming. You had hid, to try to gain some semblance and order in your mind before one of them came for you. The horrible man that had sired you of course was stronger than your mother; He hit harder, left bigger bruises so long as they weren't on your face. You could always hide them with conservative clothes. Hits and bruising on the face were harder to lie about. Soon enough, the pain would be so strong that you would just slip into blissful darkness._

_It was Mother you feared most, however._

_She knew she wasn't as strong. That's why she would use something else along with her fists._

_And it was her tonight. You could tell by the light footfalls stumbling drunkenly into your room._

_Of course, she was wasted. That made it better for her._

_Despite your best efforts, you released a small whimper as you eased your expression into something more sullen, rather than terrified. It was fake but better._

_Your throat was still swollen with fear. Your body shook uncontrollably._

_Terror. Shaking. Shivering. Sweating. Knowledge. Pain. Screams. Rage. Absolute agony-_

_The door to the closet was flung open, and a malicious feminine face was the only thing your blackening vision could see besides one other thing in the dim light._

_The metallic gleam of a knife._

* * *

~~***TRIGGER TIME OVER!*** ~~

* * *

 

Your legs shook almost like jelly as you took one fearful step back from the toy laying innocently in the dirt. You knew it wasn't going to move, not without assistance, but it didn't matter. Not to you. It didn't matter that it was fake. That it was plastic. It was destructive to your wellbeing. To your sanity. It should have been destroyed. Melted back into plastic and used for something else. Something more peaceful. Something that would never hurt anyone again.

***...Olivia...? Are you...?**

Needed to get away from it. Couldn't breathe, couldn't make a sound. Had to leave before the darkness could take you and-

You turned and fled as if your life depended on it, rounding two corners before bolting down the left pathway, the pathway you  _should_ have taken in the first place. Your breath was wild, your strides were long, your eye burned from unshed tears, but it didn't matter because you were getting the  _hell away from-_

Running without actually seeing where you were going of course usually leads to complications pretty damn quickly, which was probably why you weren't surprised when you slammed straight into a much larger body, bounced off and flopped to the ground as pain began to pulse through your back and your head.

"Agh, ow... The f-"

"Oh my... My child, are you alright?" Biting your tongue to keep from saying something that was just oh-so-satisfying to say when you were in pain, your closed eye fluttered open to belatedly focus on the adorable goat lady known as Toriel looming above you.

Who was also spinning?

However, as you desperately needed the distraction with the pain breaking through your panicked haze, a slightly nervous laugh bubbled past your lips, followed by a groan as said laughter just made the pounding in your head worse.

"I... I-I think so, Miss Toriel... Ooh, okay, no, I'm kinda lying..." Slowly sitting up as V went eerily silent in your head, you couldn't help but rub your back as Toriel began to worry over you in her motherly way. "I guess this is why they say you need to watch where you're going when you're running... right?" You tried to make a little joke off of your pain, considering it a small victory as she gave a small smile in return.

"Well then... I was about to return to get you, but it seems you've made the trek yourself and I have no need to..." She gave you a reproachful look, but as you struggled to loosen the tightness in your chest and gain air once more, you couldn't exactly make the apologetic face you wanted. "But at least you have made it home in one piece."

'That is a highly relative term there...' You thought about your shattered mind set and was suddenly grateful for the distraction as something else registered about what she said. "Wait... Home?"

"Ah, why yes! This is your new home!" Helping you off the floor and once again onto your feet, you stared before you glanced shamefully away.

"I... I'll admit, Miss Toriel... I've... Never had a real home..." A deep silence reigned between you two for a bit, and you fidgeted as you realized two pairs of eyes were watching you at that moment...

A large furry paw cupped your cheek and tilted your head up, making your silver-blue eye establish contact with soft red ones.

"Well, my child... You do now. Come... I have a surprise for you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn... I was crying when I finished the last part.
> 
> A message to all my fellow writers, you know how when you write something emotional you get all into it as you sympathize with your character and by the time you finished, it was nothing like you expected it to be, but like HOLY HELL it might actually be better than what you were thinking of anyways?
> 
> For my first time writing something that emotional, I think I did pretty good.
> 
> I hope you guys like this. You have NO IDEA how hard it was to willingly make grammatical errors while typing Napstablook's speech to make it seem more authentic. It was MURDER. 
> 
> But anyway. I hope I didn't chase any of you off, you should have known what you were getting into when you looked at my tags!
> 
> Give Kudos and Comments and all that good stuff!
> 
> Ja ne!


	4. Pretty Red Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia finds out who V is.

Sweet scents and a homey warmth assaulted you as Toriel escorted you into a cute looking home looming tall behind a large tree (How were trees growing down here?), and looked on as her cheerful smile seemed to grow.

"Do you smell that? Surprise!" You watched bemusedly as she held up her arms with a flourish, gesturing to her humble little abode.

"You see, I'd thought that we would celebrate your arrival, my dear. So I've prepared a cinnamon butterscotch pie. We'll hold off on snail pie for tonight." You blinked once before it clicked.

So that's why she kept calling you and asking about your preferences between butterscotch and cinnamon in a scene that the author was too lazy to write!

....

Wait, what?

....

Meh, that errant thought was probably nothing.

You gave her a sheepish grin as she grasped your hand, and pulled you down the hallway to your right as she continued to chatter excitedly. You had gathered at this point that Toriel lived alone, and since all the other monsters in the Ruins were pretty intimidated by her, she probably never had company.

You could tell she was lonely, the poor dear, and apparently, your unexpected moving in seemed to be the highlight of her month.

Luckily for her, you weren't really planning on going anywhere. The surface had no appeal to you anymore.

"Surprise! Your very own room!" Her voice broke you out of your thoughts, and you felt her large comforting paw rub the top of your head as you stood in front of a quaint little door. You had to hide your face as you felt a deep burn flash over your cheeks, making her giggle quietly before she sniffed the air. "Is something burning...? Uh, make yourself at home!" You gave a small smile as she hurried off, before twisting the handle to the door and letting yourself in.

It was... a child's room.

Toriel must have had a child at one point in her life... It would make sense with how she treated you. But since she was obviously alone... Either they grew up, or they...

 ***We should keep looking around Olivia.** There was a slight edge in their tone as they reacted to your thoughts, and while your eyes narrowed in response, you let it go and complied with V's suggestion.

Yep, an old child's room. Apparently, no one had inhabited this room in a long while. You noticed that the sheets on the twin sized bed had been freshly washed, and the itching in your nose dictated that she might have dusted a bit while you were wandering around. The duffel bag that you had totally forgotten that she had taken with her had been placed on the bed, so this was probably where you were going to sleep.

She had definitely tried to get the place ready for you when she had left.

A tiny, warm smile had taken your lips at her thoughtfulness as you gently patted the bed before leaving the room to look around a bit more. Didn't want to get lost later on or anything like that; Your direction skills royally sucked.

You could hear V giggle quietly in your head as their tension eased, consequentially making you calmer too as you continued down the hallway to your right with a quiet tune on your lips. At the very end of the hallway, there was a mirror, and with an absentminded walk, you turned to stand in front of it.

The flipped image in the mirror was one you usually regarded with indifference and bitterness. Your silver-grey hair reached to your lower back, and you preferred to keep it in a ponytail that started at the base of the back of your head. The bangs were mostly one-sided, covering your right eye, to the point where the right side of your face was mostly hidden. Caramel colored skin, a perky nose, and one silvery-blue eye that showed your more lack-a-dasical nature. Despite being able to pull off very strenuous things, you were much more of a lethargic type; Not liking to move unless you really wanted to or absolutely had to. The dark circles under your eyes didn't help the tired look either; Your parents had caused an ultimatum in your mind, and you couldn't take it anymore. You had spent days on the surface planning your escape from home, and when the opportunity had presented itself, you did not hesitate. You had worn your favorite clothes as you fled, a royal blue hoodie over a plain white tank top and black tights underneath a pleated light pink skirt that reached to your calves. Blue and white tennis shoes were what covered your feet.

***I see a pretty lady in the mirror.**

V's words had registered late in your mind, and a hot blush ravaged your cheeks before your eye noticed something else in the reflection.

There was a child. A child floating right behind your right shoulder and smiling kindly at your image. They had stunning red eyes.

Glancing back discretely, you confirmed that there was no one actually behind you, and yet... There they were in the mirror.

"And I see a child with beautiful red eyes right beside me..." You said in reply. Their surprised reaction didn't disappoint.

***You... can see me?**

"Are you a child who looks to be around twelve wearing a green sweater with one bright yellow stripe right across the middle and brown pants, toting shoulder length brown hair, pale skin, rosy cheeks, and crimson eyes?" You rattled off the appearance of the phantom quietly, watching the face turn blank in shock.

***....Yes.**

"Then yes, I can see you. At least in the mirror." The two of you stared in befuddled silence before you spoke once more. "You know, you're a cute kid."

A warm grin stretched your lips as the comment broke them out of their stupor, and a deep red blush rested on their face before they moved to hide it. "Ah, payback is so satisfying sometimes..."

***Stooop...!**

"Kawaii desu ne..." You giggled to yourself as you broke the eye contact with your reflection, and turned to follow that absolutely heavenly scent wafting through the air. Oh boy, did that smell good...

***You just ate so many spider pastries!**

'Ah, but when it comes to sugar, I can never have enough, little one.' You bantered mentally and had to hold back a snicker at their frustrated sound.

***I am not little!**

'I'm like, seven to eight years older than you; To me, you're little.' Feeling their irritation grow, you quickly placed a red herring. 'So V, apparently you have somehow connected yourself to me. You got any idea how that happened?'

 ***W-Well, uh... Do you remember that patch of golden flowers that you had woken up on?** Nodding in response, you heard them continue on.  ***That's where I was buried.**

A deep shudder shook your frame as that fact registered before you shook your head to get rid of the morbid thought. 'Oh jeez... Okay, so that confirms you're not living. Got it.' Moving into the living room, you blinked as you spotted Toriel in a cozy looking chair placed in front of a fireplace, book in hand and a pair of reading glasses perched on her snout.

Welp. Not something you see every day. Though this day was dictating that your life would never be normal in any sense of the word ever again.

When she noticed you entered the room, she looked up with an apologetic smile. "Oh, hello there my child. I apologize, the pie is not yet ready... Perhaps you'd like to take a nap? You've had quite the day, have you not?" Making a lot of sense before you could even say a word, she chuckled softly as the expression on your face showed no objection to the idea of a nap. You turned to go, but a thought stopped you.

"Oh... Um... Miss Toriel?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Thank you... Thank you for being so caring and opening your home up to me. I very much appreciate it." She seemed surprised into silence as you fled to your room, too nervous to want to know what her reaction would be. Closing the door and flopping onto the bed as you kicked off your shoes, you inhaled deeply, releasing the air with a deep sigh of relief.

Home...

***It has a ring to it, doesn't it...?**

"Like nothing else ever had..." You whispered in reply, gazing up at the bare ceiling as you snuggled into the covers. "It will take me a bit to get used to it, though." They gave a noncommittal noise as your body slowly went limp. "Oh... V?"

***Yes?**

"You aren't a part of me... So V can't be your name since I just came up with it on the fly. You said you had been buried... Do you have a name? Or do you not remember it?" There was deep silence at the back of your mind until a soft word was said in reply.

***...Chara.**

"Chara... That's a nice name..." You mumbled, sighing softly as your eyes fluttered shut and sleep began to creep up on you. "Nice to meet you Chara... I hope we get along..."

***...Yeah. Me too.**

Smiling to yourself, and feeling much more relaxed than you had ever been in your life, one last thought came to your mind before the arms of fatigue engulfed you.

_I'm finally free._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Snickers softly.* Sorry about the fourth wall break, I just adore shit like that. I couldn't really help it.
> 
> Short chapter is short. Sorry about that. Next chapter will be a bit short too.
> 
> Oh! And if any of you have questions for me and Savoye, shoot!


	5. The Uneasiness Before a Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit goes down after many long months of peace.

The first full official day of your stay had started off with a mini heart attack, mostly because at first, you didn't immediately remember what had happened the day before, and the room you had woken up in was unfamiliar.

And Chara lazily floating above you, staring right at you and smiling as you woke up didn't really help either.

Toriel had left a piece of cinnamon butterscotch pie on the floor right off the side of your bed, and you had nearly stumbled into it after rolling haphazardly out of bed. After munching on it to calm your nerves and irritation towards a laughing spirit, you had picked up the plate and moved to the kitchen, passing a smiling Toriel exactly where you had left her the night before. You blinked slowly at the size of the pie she had baked- _whywasitsobighahathat'swhatshesaid-_ and washed your plate before turning to go join Toriel by the fireplace. Chara followed you without complaint, seeming to gaze around and take in the place with an unfathomable expression.

"Oh, did you sleep well, my dear?" Nodding up at the monster with grateful eyes as you sat down at her feet, her kind smile widened. "I must say, I am very glad to have you living with me. It gets lonely here, by myself." Ah, so you were right about her living alone. "I have so many old books I would like to share. This may be surprising, but I've always wanted to be a teacher." The knowing grin you flashed her seemed to make her backpedal. "Well, perhaps that's not very surprising... Still." You chuckled at her slightly flustered look as Chara sat beside you, gazing into the flames flickering in the fireplace.

"That does sound nice Miss Toriel. I've always liked reading." Her smile was content as she returned her attention to the book in her hands and you turned to gaze into the fireplace as well. You realized that there wasn't as much heat coming from the fire that you knew fire usually had, so in a brief, morbid moment of airheadedness, you stuck your hand into the fire and was amazed to feel the flames licking up your hand, yet not burning you at all. It was pleasantly warm, comforting, and you gave a shocked gasp as Chara gave you a look that clearly said _'You're insane!'_

"Oh my child, do be careful. If that wasn't _my_  special fire magic, you would have been seriously hurt." You turned wide eyes up towards Toriel as she gave you an odd look as well.

"Wait, this is your magic? It's not hurting me at all!"

"Oh yes, because I do not intend it to hurt anyone. Magic is all about intent. If you do not intend to hurt someone with it, you will not damage anyone, but in a fight, the intent to harm and the intent to kill is very crucial."

"Magic is so awesome~!" You were sure you looked like an impressed little kid, judging from Chara's giggles and Toriel's flushed, yet pleased face. "Could you please,  _please_ tell me more Miss Toriel? I don't know the first thing about magic, but if I'm going to be living down here, I should probably have the knowledge. You could be my teacher!"

That was the seller right there, for she immediately lit up in reply and nodded to you as she placed the book in her hands to the side.

"Alright, my child... But only if you just call me Toriel."

"Yes M- Ah, I mean... Toriel."

* * *

Time passed comfortably in this manner. Days gave way to weeks, which gave way to months. The Underground didn't keep track of time like the Surface did. It drove you a bit crazy; As a human, you were used to knowing what time and date it was, and the illusion of infinity was not something humans could usually take. At this point, you were very sure your birthday had come and gone, and even though you were pretty sure you were twenty now, it didn't really matter to you. The days spent with Toriel did indeed make you feel like a child, for the wisdom she exuded with her mere presence made you feel young.

The peace you had eventually fallen into living with her was something both you and Chara cherished greatly. You were becoming quite attached to them both, but you weren't frightened enough to stop it. After having spent enough time with them, you were shocked as you finally realized that you were beginning to think of them as family. Chara, despite being pretty damn mature for how they looked, was rather clingy; The shocking thing was that you never minded it. Being leashed to you for a long period of time, you realized that they were becoming slightly more substantial as time went on. You could see them without the mirror after the first month or two, and then after that, you could feel their touch, and then after that-if they concentrated hard enough-they could just barely move objects around you. The farther they moved from you, the less effect it seemed they had, so they decided it would just be best to stay by your side as often as possible. You were saddened when they told you that they did not want Toriel to know they were there, and despite your gentle protests, they would never give you an idea as to why. You weren't completely oblivious, you noticed their silent sobbing when they thought you were totally focused on something else. It was clear something was bothering them greatly, but respecting their boundaries, you let the subject drop, and instead focused on how you and Toriel made them smile.

You were pretty damn grateful to Chara because they did their best to keep the nightmares away. On the surface, in between the constant beatings, nightmares would ravage your mind almost every other night, causing you to miss out on sleep. Which explained why you always looked tired, had dark circles under your eyes and you had to consistently take naps whenever you could get them. Chara, you realized, was not only connected to you by mind, but by SOUL too. They knew what you knew, they saw what you saw, tasted what you tasted, and felt what you felt. So you were pretty damn sure they had looked through your memories at one point if the empathetic glances they gave you when they thought you weren't looking were anything to go by.

How mature they were made you slightly sad. But you realized they idolized Toriel because their speech sounded a lot like hers.

Speaking of Toriel, her sense of humor tickled your funny bone; She seemed to like puns most of all, and you both had moments where it felt like you would die from not getting enough air because you were laughing too hard. Her influence had you cracking puns left and right once you had become comfortable with her. Chara also enjoyed them, though sometimes the constant onslaught of jokes was too much for them and it made them groan wholeheartedly. Their reactions were the funniest to be very honest.

In short, Toriel was a wonderful monster, a wonderful  _person_ , even better than your first impression of her was.

Toriel and Chara were your first true family, biology be damned.

You knew that she knew your life on the surface was terror; She just never brought it up. She instead focused on making your life now as happy as she could.

She exploited your love of food greatly. Snail pie was the one thing she cooked most, and while at first the thought of eating snails made you twitch, you knew there wasn't much else she could do. Choices of food were awfully limited in the Underground. Besides, you were eating spider pastries for Christ sakes. With as much of her food you ate, you had to constantly go explore the RUINS and dance to make sure any weight you gained was burned off.

In correlation to that, after the first few months, you had finally gotten to dance with her. You remembered the incident well; With the accidental slip of the tongue, you had called her 'mother' when you gave her a good morning hug. You froze in horror when she had stiffened in surprise, and as you fumbled to explain, she gripped you in a tight hug. She had happily exclaimed that she saw you as a daughter as well, and without further ado, corralled you into a dance. When you had asked what she was doing in your shock, she said that a dance would cement your bond together as mother and daughter despite not being at all related.

You had never seen her so happy before that day.

Your walls were crumbling; It was too late to take any of it back.

At this point, you were very sure you didn't want to.

But there was, of course, a little voice in your head that wanted to wreck everything.

_'Does she really care about you?' 'Why would she care what you think?' 'You remember what your parents said. You're worthless. You're not worthy of any love.' 'One day she'll just forget all about you, and you'll be alone again.'_

Thankfully Chara, bless the little cinnamon roll's soul, would angrily quiet your doubts and try to distract you as much as possible from your anxiety and depression. Drawing was a passion of theirs just as much as it was yours, and they would literally beg you to teach them everything you knew. Happy for the distraction, you would do so as you explored the RUINS, so Toriel wouldn't get worried about how it looked like you were talking to thin air. Chara was as much of a nerd and anime fan as you were, you were astonished to find. Since you had downloaded anime on your laptop which you had brought with you, you could both have fan attacks as you watched everything multiple times.

Months passed. You knew every little nook and cranny of the RUINS by that point.

And that was how the feeling started.

You began to feel... Cramped.

All of your journals and sketchbooks had been filled to the brim with drawings and stories by that point (except one which was completely blank because you were trying to save it), and there was no way of getting more, so that way of distracting yourself was out.

You had found everything that had needed to be found in the RUINS, and when you realized that, it made them feel extremely small all of a sudden. Napstablook would visit every so often, but he wasn't much for interaction, so that made that a no-go too.

There was no way around it.

You were bored out of your mind.

Chara was too, and you knew it. They just never said anything.

You had read everything in Toriel's house. You had interacted and danced with every monster in the RUINS. You were fairly sure that you were made a godmother to the tadpoles of a Froggit couple, and even the _WHIMSUMS_ became completely comfortable around you.

The only two things keeping you from going absolutely insane from boredom were the different songs on your phone, and Chara themselves.

After a month or so of this, you had noticed that Toriel was acting... strange. And after pointing it out to Chara, they agreed with your thoughts.

Toriel would stare off into space, mumble quietly to herself, and her face would contort into a soft expression of pain in response to whatever she would be thinking about. The emotion in her eyes was haunting. You knew the look well; She was thinking about something in her past. But every time you would ask, she would just smile and say she was fine.

But she wasn't. You knew it, Chara knew it, and so did she. The tension in the household could be cut with a - _flinch_ \- knife. It put you on edge, and you wondered when the bubble would finally burst.

You had gained your answer when one day, she had suddenly rose from her chair while you were laying in front of the fire place, startling you when she had left the room saying she had to do something with a tight expression.

***Something is wrong.**

"No kidding..." You breathed quietly to Chara before getting up to go look for her. Not in your room, her room, and not seeing a sign of her leaving the house, you panicked slightly as you wondered where she could be before it hit you.

Your gaze turned slowly towards the stairs going down into the basement.

'Could she be down there?' You frowned to yourself. You had only tried to go down there once, and Toriel had stopped you before you had even reached the end of the dark hallway. With a light scolding, she had led you back upstairs, and you made an effort to never go down there again, wanting to respect her privacy.

But now, that could be the only place where she could be. And you could feel the curiosity burning deep in your SOUL.

Before you could stop yourself, you were in the dark hallway once more. You followed the path, rounding around a corner and shivering at the silence in the corridor, not liking the cold eerie feeling at all.

When you had finally caught sight of her familiar violet gown, you rushed forward as an uneasy feeling twisted in your stomach, before stopping as you realized flames danced around her form as she faced what seemed to be a huge door.

"T... T-Toriel?" You whispered quietly in question, feeling cold moisture drip down your neck.

She glanced back at you, and you nearly took a step back at how cold her expression was.

"Go upstairs my child." You shivered at her stony tone, but stayed where you were, feeling Chara's extreme discomfort as they gripped your shoulders.

"Toriel... What's going on? You've been acting weird..." You trailed off as you watched one of her hands tighten into a fist.

"This door is the exit to the rest of the Underground." Your eye widened at that; There was more?! Why didn't she ever tell you?! "I am going to destroy it."

_WHAT?!_

"But... B-But why Toriel? Why didn't you ever tell me there was more...? Why are you trying to destroy the exit? Especially when there's so much more to see?" You didn't understand. Why would Toriel lie to you about this? And... And for so long...?

"So eager to leave, are you...?" You frowned deeply at her bitter words. "Hmph... You are just like the others..."

Wait, hold on, others?

But then, a realization hit you. In your room, there was a cluster of children boots hiding in the far corner. While weird, you had assumed that they were left there from when she had kids from her own. But she didn't wear shoes. Ever. If her child, or children, were the same as her, you realized that they probably wouldn't need shoes either.

It hit you like a bucket of ice cold water.

You and Chara were not the only ones to have fallen down here.

"I have seen it again and again. The human children that fall all have the same fate." You turned an oddly pickling eye towards her. "They come. They leave. They die." You sucked in a sharp breath as her flames grew bigger, reacting to her emotions. "If you leave, they... **Asgore**... Will kill you. I am only trying to protect you, do you understand?"

For some reason, this garnered a strong reaction from you.

"But I am not a child, Toriel!" Your anger surprised even you, and you could hear Chara gasping softly. You never rose your voice. "I appreciate everything you have done for me! But you can't just keep me trapped here! I can take care of myself!" The silence was deafening as you stood firm, feeling your SOUL clench uncomfortably as her flames burned stronger.

"Can you...? If so..." You felt a chill roll down your spine as she turned to face you, her eyes hard and sharp. "Prove it to me."

You could feel your SOUL being tugged on harshly, your eye widening in horror as you realized what was happening, balls of fire flickering to life in her paws.

***Oh no...**

"Prove to me you have the strength to survive."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I lied. This is WAY longer than I thought it would be. But hey! That's pretty awesome right?
> 
> Reviews and comments are love~! You know which one I mean!
> 
> Ja ne!


	6. Heartache (Please Don't Go)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tears galore as family battle. Olivia is tempted... But she finds her Determination. Mother and Daughter have one last dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just warning you all right now...
> 
> The FEELS.
> 
> And hot damn, this chapter is long!

No...

Nononononononono-!

_This isn't what you wanted!!_

You didn't want to  _FIGHT_  to be able to go explore!

Especially not against the woman whom you cared so much for!

"W-Wait!! Toriel, we don't have to fight!" You cried out as your SOUL was soon revealed, pulsing anxiously with grey light as the well known cracks splayed over it flickered in and out of sight along with it.

You realized this was the first time that she had ever gotten a good look at your SOUL. You could see her hesitate just a second at the sight before she shook her head, focusing a glare back onto you.

"If you wish to leave, you will fight me." Your SOUL began to pulse to a beat you had never heard before, and began to react to the song, causing you to gasp as emotional pain gripped your chest. The song grew slowly in volume, taunting you cruelly as it seemed to match your situation to a tee. It was elegant, yes, but fast paced and full of emotion. A word floated into your mind as the confrontation began, and you couldn't help but whimper softly.

_Heartache._

***Toriel blocks the way!** Even Chara sounded distraught as flames began to lick and dance around your two forms, and panic set in.

'But I don't want to do this!'

In a fight, you were always given the first move; In any other situation, you were glad as it helped you end the confrontation quickly.

But in this situation...

You had practically slammed down your hand on the ACT button and pressed Check first, desperation in your gaze as uncomfortable heat spiraled around you.

***Toriel 80 ATK 80 DEF**

***Knows what's best for you.**

'Really not helping right now Chara!' You screamed in your head with a panicky undertone, trying to figure out what to do.

It was then Toriel began to _move._

This was not like any dance battle you had been in so far. In fact, a battle meant that the people involved had to be somewhere near the same level. It had to be a fair fight.

You were nowhere near her level.

Her graceful steps were strong, confident. As she spun with a flourish, dangerous balls of fire came hurtling towards you, and you yelped as you hopped, jumped and spun out of the way. You felt parts of your skin tingle uncomfortably where there was close calls. You had never felt this from her magic before.

She  _was_ intending to harm you.

 _Betrayed again it seems._ You almost jolted at the words the rather tortuous voice said, before scowling and pressing Talk this time in the ACT menu.

 ***You wished to talk, but couldn't think of any conversation topics.** Damn it...! Chara was right! As you panicked, your mind was drawing a complete blank! Come on Olivia... Think!

Your heart was beating like a jackhammer as you dodged the oncoming projectiles with a wide eye; Napstablook had nothing on this! 

***Toriel is acting aloof.**

_You should have known._  Gritting your teeth, you mentally told the little devil in your head to fuck off as you repeated your actions from before.

*** You tried to think of something to talk about, but...**

Toriel was staying completely silent, her eyes glassy as she seemed to stare through your form, fire raining down with the intent to hurt you. You weren't completely fast enough this time, hissing in pain as fire grazed your arm through your thin, long sleeved top, leaving a raw burn on your skin and a burnt hole in the sleeve of the shirt. You watched as your health dropped from twenty to eighteen, and grunted in an uneasy way.

***Toriel looks through you.**

_For the first time, you asked for something you wanted so badly. But look. She's trying to hurt you. Just like your real parents did. You should have known her kindness wouldn't last long._

'She's not doing this because she wants to! She's nothing like them!' You shook your head as you tried to ignore it, not noticing how silent Chara was towards your turmoil. You repeated you actions once more.

 ***Ironically, TALKing doesn't seem to be the solution to this situation.** _God DAMN IT!_  

Frustration built up deep in your belly as you dodged once more, trying not to cry out as a few flames caught you off guard and lowered your HP six more points. You were so distracted, you hadn't noticed the soft sound of confusion Toriel had made under her breath. The cracks in your SOUL were slowly spreading.

What would happen if all the cracks connected...?

 _It's always the same. You trusted her and look where it's gotten you. She will kill you at this rate. You will die. You will die as the nothing everyone told you you were._ The words were starting to get to you. Your only working eye watered up with stinging tears. The peace you had felt for the first time since you were a toddler was gone. Every beat of your heart came with pain. You didn't want to believe any of it. She called you her daughter. You thought she had cared for you... _Loved_ you. Was it all a lie...? Were you really so...

So expendable...?

 _Aren't you tired of it? Tired of being the dirt underneath everyone's feet?'_ You had stopped moving, gripping at the hem of your shirt as you bit your lip, trying to hold back sobs; It was too late for the tears, because they were already streaming down your face. The haunting voice wouldn't get out of your head; It sounded like you, but... it sounded so malicious. Was that who you really were?

 _After all the pain that people have inflicted upon you, don't you deserve to give some in return?_ Your eye involuntarily flicked over to the FIGHT button.  _Don't you deserve retribution?_

Was... That really the only way out of this...? To... To FIGHT? To hurt the woman you had trusted enough to call 'mother'?

_Show her the pain her betrayal has caused you._

 

 

.......

 

 

................

 

 

No.

**Never.**

 Even if you were to die now, you would never stoop to that level! You weren't the evil that your parents were! You weren't cruel like all the people who sneered at you for no reason! If you hurt Toriel now, just because she wouldn't give you what you wanted...

You were no better than those fools on the surface!

'Get behind me Satan,' You hissed mentally as you slammed your hand onto MERCY, your SOUL flaring with your new found strength, 'I've got no time for your shit right now.' Your SOUL burned with energy and the dull shade tinted towards a red color. When Chara spoke this time, it was with relief and admiration.

 

***You are filled with Determination.**

 

"What are you doing Olivia?" Toriel growled with irritation as fire streaked towards your form. With renewed vigor, despite your SOUL knowing the beat didn't resonate with you, you slipped and twirled around the fireballs, ignoring the disadvantage you were hyperaware you had and the sweat beginning to bead on your brow from the heat.

***Can you really show mercy without FIGHTing or running away...?**

_'Damn right I can!'_

"I won't fight you Toriel!" You touched MERCY.

"Attack or run away!"

" _Never!_ " You cried out, taking any hits you gained in stride. Your HP was down to eight points now.

"What are you proving this way?" You felt the ribbon holding your hair back in its regular pony tail slowly fall away with all the vigorous activity you were doing, and you could feel your long hair flowing out in waves as you moved. You could feel Chara's astonishment and you saw a glimpse of surprise and the softer emotion you were used to flash across Toriel's face before the anger returned.

There was still hope.

"You told me yourself! Nothing good comes from hurting people on purpose! FIGHTing is not the only way to win!"

"It IS out there!" She shot back, hurling more of her magic at your frame. As you dodged one, the smell of burning hair caught you off guard and you hissed in displeasure as another caught you in the arm good enough to leave a second-degree burn. Five HP. "Fight me or leave!"

"I am a coward if I run now! I want to stop running away!" You gripped your injured arm tightly as a grimace twisted your face, your movements starting to get slower and your breathing labored. Yet you persisted.

Spare.

"Stop it."

Spare.

"Stop looking at me that way."

Four HP.

Spare.

"Go away!"

Three HP.

Spare.

"......"

You were hit square in the chest, dead on your soul. You released a scream of agony. You collapsed to the earth, feeling your strength leave you as burns riddled your body, and scorch marks covered your clothes. You could hear Chara cry out your name in fear.

One HP.

Spare.

"........."

The attacks were actively avoiding you now. Even though you were an easy target.

Spare.

"I know you want to leave but..."

She had stopped attacking. The music had stopped as well. The only sound left was your harsh pants in the silence.

Spare.

"But please... Go upstairs now." Chara was silent. You only knew they were there because you felt a small hand on your shoulder.

Spare.

"I promise I will take good care of you here." You lamely shook your head in response.

Spare.

"I know we do not have much, but..."

Spare.

"We can have a good life here."

....Spare.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" Her saddened face made you feel rather guilty, so you opened your mouth.

"I'm not wanting to leave forever Mom. I just want to explore..." It was a low blow to call her that right now, and you knew it but...

Spare.

"...Please. Go upstairs."

Even if you wanted to, you couldn't. The Flee option was no longer there. "You showed me how wrong everyone on the surface was. You showed me love that I thought I wasn't worthy to receive."

Spare.

"......."

"And I was thinking... If I could find family,  _true family_ , when I had believed it was impossible for me anymore, then maybe... I could make friends too. Maybe I could find something... Find something great that Life has to offer."

Spare.

"I have no wish to return to the surface. It holds nothing for me anymore. Life wasn't worth living up there. It was only when I fell, when I found you, that I realized what happiness was." Your voice croaked, and the remaining smoke in the air made you cough. She seemed to flinch at how rough it sounded.

Spare.

"Please Mom...  _Please..._ I won't be gone forever. I want to come back." She inhaled a shuddering breath before approaching you, her unhappy frown seeming permanent. Kneeling beside you, you watched as she placed her hands above your injuries. You were unable to hold back your sigh of bliss as the pain slowly faded away to non-existent, your SOUL returning back to your body. After she finished, you were quickly sitting up to hug her tightly to yourself.

"I... Understand my child. You would just be unhappy staying here, without knowing if there was anything else for the rest of your life. The RUINS are very small after you get used to them."

"Don't I know it." You murmured softly, your lips quirking up only slightly at the soft watery laugh leaving her. "Can't you come with me...?"

If you hadn't had your face pressed against her shoulder, you would have seen the pained grimace upon her face at the suggestion. "No... No, I cannot..."

"...I can at least come back... Right?"

"The exit to the RUINS is a one-way door...."

Silence.

"But... If you call me whenever you wish to visit... I can open the door for you." You could feel your SOUL humming in approval of the idea.

"....I'd like that."

"Then come child... We must get you ready for your travel." She helped you stand again, but refused to completely let you go as you both turned to walk away from the door, back the way you came. Even with her tight hold around your waist, you could feel Chara scramble onto your back and cling onto you. You didn't say a word about it, knowing they needed the comfort. "I burned some of your pretty hair...." Toriel's tone was almost heart broken as you pulled your hair over your shoulder, seeing about an inch of the ends charred. Some of the ends crumbled off into your hand.

"It's okay... I needed a haircut anyway."

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, really."

"Your hair is rather beautiful down..."

"Oh... Thanks..." The was a short silence as you felt Chara's hands move to shift through your hair, gently rubbing your scalp.

"My child... Do you mind if you stay a couple more days before leaving...?"

"Of course Mom. I don't mind one bit."

* * *

 

The days passed slowly, but though the tension cleared, you could sense the deep sadness within Toriel as you spent your last few days with her. You had used a day to make your rounds and say goodbye to the monsters in the RUINS. They were all rather sad to hear about your leaving, but it brightened their spirits a little to know you would be coming back to visit every once in a while. You had to comfort a few Whimsums when they had exploded into tears, and the Vegetoids wouldn't let you leave their sight without you promising that you would eat healthy.

The last day you were staying, she was helping you prepare yourself. She packed your clothes and your belongings herself; Why, you didn't know. But at the moment, since you had forgotten earlier, you were sitting in a chair in front of the large mirror in the hallway and she was snipping off the charred ends of your hair, apologizing profusely over and over again for it. Chara was sitting at your feet, leaning their head against your thigh.

"Mother, really... It's okay. I've forgiven you for it."

"It still doesn't excuse my actions, Olivia..."

"It doesn't, but that doesn't mean I love you any less."

A pleased smile spread over your lips as that immediately took off the melancholy expression on her face, her face flushing red as she gazed down at you with glittering happy eyes.

"You... You love me?"

You gave a slow nod, a giggle slipping from Chara as you realized you were blushing  _juuuust_ a bit. "You'll always be my first family Tori. Never forget that." She remained silent as she ducked her head, and you laughed softly to yourself.

"Aww, come on. What's got your  _goat_?" Grinning victoriously as she laughed out loud, you tried not to snicker as Chara groaned good-naturedly and performed a lovely face-palm.

Gazing back at the mirror, you gazed at your reflection for what would probably be the last time for a while and noticed something.

When you had first arrived, your features were sharp and cold; Your eye held no spark and your lips, while plush, looked as though they were made of marble. You were immutable. You thought there was no possibility for change.

But you were wrong.

Your features were kinder, softer even. Your lips seemed to have a default quirk at the edge of your lips, like a neutral amused smirk. And as for your eye... The usual dark ring underneath was non-existent, and if you looked closely, you could see a small glimmer within it.

Change... Was usually a thing you hated. The unpredictability of something new would give you anxiety attacks until you were used it in a routine.

But...

Perhaps Change wasn't all bad...

 

The day on which you had planned on leaving was a tearful one.

You were taking one last look at the large tree in front of your home (you could say that so easily now!), wishing you had climbed it many more times than you already had before turning to go back inside.

Of course, the violet spark had caught your eye.

Gazing upon it with a small amount of amusement, you tapped it once.

 

***Leaving home to begin something new makes you nervous...**

***You are filled with something... But is it Apathy like you always thought it was?**

 

'Good question Chara...' You mused, tapping the SAVE button before strolling back inside to begin your departure. 'I'm not as sure as I used to be...'

Toriel made you put on the warmest jacket you owned (which was blue of course), along with tights and jeans over that. She had knitted you some really cozy socks, saying you would probably need them. You had no idea what she meant by that, but you didn't complain. She insisted on walking you down to the exit of the RUINS, and you carried your things on your shoulders as you walked beside her in a content silence. It wasn't long until you had made it to the door and you both stopped.

"Welp..."

"Here we are..." She breathed, and glancing over to her, you saw that she was valiantly trying to hold back big fat tears welling in her eyes.

The sight made your eye feel oddly prickly as well, and you swallowed down the lump in your throat before sighing softly.

"Mother... Do you think we... We could dance one more time...?" She turned red tearful eyes towards you and gave a wobbly smile as she nodded rapidly.

"Of course we could, my child!" Quickly placing your stuff down, you pulled out your phone and your portable speaker, Chara moving to sit to the side as you handed the iPhone to Toriel after bringing up an appropriate playlist.

"Here, just pick whichever one you'd like." She blinked and looked through the device as you had asked, quickly picking one, and you set it off to the side after connecting it to the little speaker.

Hearing the familiar humming intro of the song, you rose a brow and looked over at Toriel knowingly as she seemed to fidget in place.

"It... seemed appropriate." Damn it, so much for trying to make this as tearless as possible. Even so, you couldn't help the slightly choked chuckle as you bowed to each other; Toriel taught you that it was proper manners to do so, especially if you were just going to run and not finish the dance. Moving closer, she placed an arm around your waist and you placed one on her shoulder (seeing as she was the taller participant) your other hands clasped tightly together.

You started out going slowly in a usual waltz formation, letting one another ease into the beat and melody of the tune.

And then the percussion joined in.

 

_Nobody ever knows_

_Nobody ever sees~_

_I left my soul..._

_Back then, no I'm too weak_

 

 

You could feel yourself getting lost in the music, feeling the familiar glow of your SOUL appear from your chest. Your half-lidded eye watched the cartoony like heart float from in between you two and move so it was at the back of you instead.

It was at that moment you began to sing along.

 

_Most nights I pray for_

_You to come home..._

_Praying to the lord~_

_Praying for my soul..._

 

_Now please don't go_

 

You could feel her and Chara's gaze upon you, feeling the awe in the air. You didn't sing often (though you loved it), especially in front of people. But... You knew Toriel liked it; She would always say how your soprano voice reminded her of an angel.

What you didn't expect from your action was the drawing out of her own soul, inverted and a pure white.

 

_Most nights I hardly sleep when I'm alone..._

_So please don't go, oh no_

_I think of you whenever I'm alone..._

_So please don't go_

 

You both were straying from the traditional ways of the waltz at this point; It was more of a melding between your Ballet and her Waltz. But it felt... Natural.

Your SOUL responded to music. That wasn't surprising, but it _was_ amazing to see magic spill and flow from both of your SOULs, weaving pretty patterns between and around you both. And apparently, it wasn't just you who was astonished at the sight.

 

_Cause I don't ever wanna know_

_Don't ever want to see things change~_

_Cause when I'm living on my own_

_I want to take it back and start again..._

 

You could see the tears glistening on her cheeks; The lyrics were really hitting home for her.

 

_Most nights I pray for you to come home_

_Praying to the lord_

_Praying for my soul~_

 

Your eye closed as she spun you outward at the pause, and you performed an arabesque before spinning back into her arms as the crescendo leading into the chorus was heard. Your smile was bright, and even though you couldn't see, you merely followed your instinct, and listened to what your SOUL was telling you to do. Your SOUL glowed with content as you sang loud and clear.

This was why you loved to dance.

 

_(Oh~Oh~Oh)_

_I send so many messages, You don't reply_

_(Oh~Oh~Oh)_

_Gotta feel around, What am I missing, babe?_

_Singing now, Oh~Oh~Oh~_

_And I need you now, I need your love!_

 

She dipped you low, and with a tighter grip on your waist, tossed you up into the air. You spun in the air, a breathy laugh leaving you as exhilaration made your SOUL turn to a bright cyan color for just a few seconds before landing back into her arms.

 

_Oh~Oh~Oh~_

 

 

The color of Patience.

 

_Now please don't go_

_I said well, Most nights I hardly sleep_

_When I'm alone_

_Now please don't go, oh no_

_I think of you whenever I'm alone_

 

The ending was coming. You knew it by the song, but she could tell from the swelling of magic in both your SOULs. You saw an expression of regret at this.

That was okay. You didn't exactly want the moment to end either.

 

_So please don't go_

_(So, please) Please don't go!_

_(Oh no...) Please don't go!_

_Oh no..._

_I think of you whenever I'm alone..._

 

_So please don't go!_

 

Humming the last bit as she made you do a small twirl, the last crescendo of music was emphasized by a burst of magic leaving both of your SOULs, before it quietly faded off with the tune as she turned you to end up in her arms with a tight hug and your respective power wells returned to their place.

...........

***Wow.**

....Wow was right.

Dancing with her had never been that intense before. But then again, her SOUL had never left her body until now. Your legs began to shake as you released a shuddering breath, your eye wide in shock.

You felt her grasp your shoulders and pull you back to look at you, and was not surprised when you saw damp fur under her eyes.

"Olivia... Call me every day, alright?" You nodded silently, and blinked as she lifted her paw to brush a lukewarm wetness from your cheek. When had you started crying...?

"And you know you can come back whenever you'd like." This was able to make your lips curl up in spite of yourself.

"Yes, Mom."

"Alright then..." You pulled her in for one last hug, enjoying her warmth and sweet scent before reluctantly letting go.

"Bye Mom... I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too my daughter." A happy flush took your cheeks as you watched her turn to go, but couldn't stop the next joyful shout from leaving you before she could turn the corner.

"I love you!" She froze slightly in her step, and you could feel her flustered bliss from where you stood.

"I love you too!" Your happy grin could not be hidden as she left from sight, and you stood there for a few minutes before placing your things away and grasping your bags once more.

 ***That was beautiful Olivia...** Biting your lip sheepishly, you chuckled just a bit.

'Thanks, Chara... Now, are you ready?' Hearing an affirmative answer, you moved forward towards the doors and pushed them open, the thought of something new setting a fire in your veins.

Wondering what odd, new, wonderful things Life had in store for you...

It filled you with CURIOSITY.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends the RUINS arc! Optima-Chama does not own the song~! The song is Please Don't Go by Joel Adams.
> 
> I am so very sorry if the fight scene wasn't that good... It was my first time writing one and I'm not very good at it... But.
> 
> Over 30 kudos.
> 
> This story hasn't even been up a full week yet.
> 
> I appreciate you all so very, very much!!! I am unworthy of your attention!
> 
> Reviews and comments are love~!
> 
> Ja ne!


	7. Spooky Scary Skeletons (Not Really)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain flowering weed gets told off, and Olivia meets the Skelebros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheheheh, I've been looking forward to this...
> 
> Unnecessary profanity warning!

Your quiet footsteps echoed in the hollow hall after you closed the door behind you and walked forward, a soft shudder becoming trapped against your spine.

You were always a fan of silence, but this was a type of quiet you did not like.

The dark hallway was long and unnerving past the gigantic door, and you could feel Chara grasp at your arm tightly as they did their ghostly floating by your side. 

'The feeling this place is giving off is very suspicious...' You thought with a shifty look and a frown, cautiously passing through a dark entryway. 'The last time I felt this type of disturbance was all those months ago when I had met that flower-'

"Howdy!"

Well, son of a bitch.

Your eye fell down to gaze upon a patch of grass and, speak of the devil, there stood a familiar little flower demon gazing up at you with a mocking smile.

"There you are! I was beginning to think we'd never see each other again! You sure took your time trying to leave, huh?" Your eye twitched slightly in irritation, your cold glare coming to the front again as Chara stared at the flower with a furrowed brow.

 ***What the hell is that thing?** A soft snort left you at their tone, which gained you an odd look from Flowey as you tried to cover up your amusement. You had forgotten that Chara was not yet conscious when you met Flowey. Flowey must not have been around when Chara fell, otherwise, they would have known about him. But my my, such language. Guess you were influencing them way more than you thought. This kid was rather impressionable.

"What the fuck do you want, huh?" You took the standard bitch stance- cocked brow, leaning to the side, hand on hip, and the defiant expression nicely finishing the look off.

"Well, that's not very nice!"

"Oh, sorry, I _totally_ didn't get the memo of us being best buds after you tried to trick me into getting hit with your 'friendliness pellets' and dying." You made quotation marks in the air as you gave him a deadpan expression, not seeming to give a fuck at all about his own expression twisting in anger. You could feel Chara stiffen at your words as they suddenly became wary. "So you gonna tell me why you're trying to waylay me, or what?"

A deep angry silence settled between you two before he finally gave a dark chuckle.

"Clever... Verrryyy clever... You think you're really smart, don't you?" Your eye narrowed as his smile gained a malicious twist to it. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. But you were determined to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person and even got to share a tender dance with her. Hee hee hee..." You went rigid before relaxing. So he was constantly spying, was he? Welp, dis bish wasn't gonna take dat.

"I actually spared the lives of all monsters in the RUINS." You brightly reminded, seeming to enjoy the twitch of irritation going through his stem as Chara snickered softly. "And danced with every single one of them too! So your argument is invalid!"

"I see you feel really great about yourself..." Damn straight. "You didn't kill anyone this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer?" You couldn't help but pause at his words and he noticed if his triumphant smirk was anything to go by. "You'll die and you'll die and you'll die... Until you tire of trying. What will you do then?" His large grin was positively evil, and the fact that he was starting to sound like the voice in your head was beginning to piss you off. "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely..."

Your hand twitched as anger began to boil in your veins.

"And let ME inherit the power to control it?"

Try to keep calm Olivia... Don't lose your cool...

"I am the prince of this world's future."

You know what? Fuck this.

"Now listen here, you manure eating weed," You hissed angrily, glaring down at the flower with cold fury burning deep in your eye, "All that shit you're spewing has gotten on my last nerve. Prince of this world's future, my ass." Chara sounded like they were trying to hold back laughter at the widening eyes of Flowey, who flinched as you advanced a step. "Some prince you are! You're only slightly more threatening than a Whimsum. If I'm getting in your way of controlling this world, whatever the hell that means, I'm gonna keep doing so if only to piss you off. And as for killing others? I'll be damned if I hurt anyone willingly! I'm nothing like you, ya piece of shit." Ooh, you were starting to sound a bit ghetto at this point. And damn, did it feel good. "I'll never kill anyone. I  _refuse_. So, in response of being  so sick of your shit!" Abruptly switching from a threatening growl to a cheerful chirp and seeming to give him whiplash at the change, you danced around him with a sickeningly sweet smile and flipped him off as he watched you move towards the door with his jaw hanging wide open.

"I've actually got a life to live and things much more interesting to see and do rather than listen to your 'villainous' speech. So without further ado, how about you go fuck yourself~!" You sang with a cackle, before skipping out the door with a bright grin.

The inside of your mind reverberated with the sound of Chara's raucous laughter.

* * *

 

 

 

Snow.

That was the first thing you saw upon leaving the RUINS. There was a lot of it. So much that you were sure there were at least four inches on the ground.

And it made absolutely no sense at all.

"How. Da. Fuck." You murmured in a flabbergasted tone, watching snowflakes drift lazily down from what you knew was the top of the cavern, which was a rock of a deep blue-violet color. "You're kidding me right now." You raised your arms up and emphasized your next words by flailing them. "How. In the hell. Is it snowing underground?"

 ***Maaaagic~.** Chara was still trying to regain breath from your little rant earlier, and the expression you gave them in response to their answer wasn't helping any.  _Little brat..._

Hearing a weird mechanical noise coming from your left, you gave a confused sound and turned to look, but only seeing a bush. Frowning in suspicion, you approached it and pushed a few leaves and twigs to the side to come face to face with an astonishing sight, which even made Chara's laughter cut off as they gasped.

***?!? There's a camera in this bush!**

'No shit!' You shouted mentally as you launched yourself back in surprise before quickly turning and speed-walking down the snowy path. 'Nope, nopenopenope, nooooope. I am getting the  _hell_ outta here.' You walked fast until you were sure you were no longer in the range of that camera and prayed to whatever Holy deities that existed there wasn't many more of them around.

***I wonder why there was a camera there...**

"I think anyone would, Chara dear..." You mumbled quietly, trying to keep an ear and an eye out for anything suspicious. You hopped over what looked to be a tough, heavy fallen branch, not wanting to trip, fall, and get an injury already. Re-adjusting your duffle bag strap upon your shoulder, you hummed a soft tune to yourself as you continued to walk forward.

But then a loud crack from behind made you freeze.

Whirling around in a defensive position, you saw.... nothing. Feeling confused, you turned your gaze down and your eye widened marginally as you saw the branch you had stepped over had been cracked cleanly in half.

 ***That was a pretty thick branch...** **If something behind us could smash it like it was nothing...** Not even letting the kid finish, you whirled back around with your wide gaze staring straight ahead of you and continued walking just a  _bit_ faster, humming quietly to yourself to calm your nerves.

"Making my way downtown... Walking fast..." You took a discrete glance behind you at the sound of snow crunching, and you felt sweat bead on your forehead as you saw a short, completely shadowed figure behind you. "Scratch that,  _fucking sprinting_..." You did just that, not caring about the ice cold wind whipping your cheeks or the thumping of your duffle bag against your thigh, which was most likely going to leave a bruise. You ran until you came to a bridge, and furrowed your brow in confusion as you looked at the odd looking wooden bars surrounding it as you panted for air. 'Is this supposed to keep people from crossing...?'

You froze once more as you heard the crunching sound of footsteps coming closer from behind.

No, really.

You couldn't move. Something was keeping you in place despite the fact that you wanted to run for the hills. The crunching sound was getting louder.

***Why aren't you fleeing for your life?!**

'If I could, I would!' Whoever or whatever owned those footsteps was right behind you now. They stopped.

 **"H u m a n."** A shuddering breath left you as the deep, almost dual-toned voice made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.  **"D o n' t  y o u  k n o w  h o w  t o  g r e e t  a  n e w  p a l?  T u r n  a r o u n d  a n d  s h a k e  m y  h a n d."**

You had no choice in the matter; Your body had slowly and robotically turned of its own accord, the shadowy figure that had only reached to about your chin put out its left hand and you stared at it.

***You're actually going to do it?!**

'I have no control of my body at the moment, Chara!!' You shouted back in your head as your hand placed itself into the offered hand which gripped yours firmly-

_Pbbbbbfffffffttttt..._

 

_......_

 

What. The. Fuck.

The palm of your hand had been pressed firmly into a rubber-like material as warm, skeletal fingers gripped the rest of your hand and you could feel the air leaving the rubber and making quite the loud fart sound. You felt your jaw drop in shock as the rigidness of whatever held your body disappeared, and the shadow around the figure disappeared, and you could finally see its eyes watching you.

Or rather, eye sockets. Like really dark eye sockets. With white little lights inside of them gazing at your expression.

"heheh... the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." Continuing to stare as the creature spoke in a wonderful sounding baritone, you felt your face twitch as a snicker started to bubble up in your throat.

Which turned into a chuckle.

Which became a full-blown, roaring, belly-aching laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! OH, oh  _gee...!_ You really just-PFFFTT... Y-You REALLY just did that....!! BWAHAHAHA!!" You wrapped your arms around your midsection and threw your head back in glee as the genuine laugh bubbling from deep within shook your entire frame, and you could hear a deep, just as loud laugh soon joining yours. "OH,  _gosh!_ M-My face... my  _stomach..._   _It h-hurts..!_ HAHA! M-M-Make it... STOP!" Hunching over from the hilarious pain and slapping a hand against your knee, you lifted a shaking hand up to your face to wipe away the tears which were going frigid in the chilled air, and attempted to take the deep breaths needed to survive as the other deep laugh just kept on going. Using the opportunity to calm yourself, you finally managed to pay attention to the appearance of the creature in front of you.

He wore a blue jacket, with the hood brought up on his head and white drawstrings hanging at the base of the hood. The hood was covering what you were guessing was a skull- You weren't exactly sure because it didn't exactly look like a skull that you knew YOU had. You saw nothing that resembled any type of flesh; It was completely smooth, no angular edges whatsoever. The jaw-or rather maw-was stretched into a legitimate shit-eating grin, but the smile was just straight teeth; You weren't sure how the hell his skull and teeth were just moving like it was malleable! A bright cyan light highlighted his cheekbones- was that supposed to be a blush? His eye sockets were shut tightly as thundering laughs shook his frame, and he moved a phalange to wipe away a legitimate clear-blue tear gathering at the corner of one, making you notice that he wore black, fingerless gloves. He wore black sweatpants with one long white stripe going down them on each side, and white and blue sneakers with the shoelaces messily untied. The entire ensemble was something that reminded you of what Hip Hop and Rap dancers would wear.

"hehehehehe... oh man, 's the best reaction 've had in a loooong while..." His deep belly laugh soon quieted down to chuckles as you stared unabashedly, trying to regain your breath. As you both took a deep breath to calm yourselves, his eye sockets opened to reveal that the little white blips from before were much brighter than when you first saw them. He stared back for a little while before raising... a brow-bone?

"uh...see somethin' ya like, kid?" If it was at all possible for your face to flush any redder than it already was from laughing so hard at that moment, it would have happened.

"Jesus, sorry! I didn't mean to stare!" A much more composed and friendly chuckle was the response as the bright cyan blush on his face dimmed considerably.

"don't worry 'bout it. the name's sans. sans the skeleton." Oh god, he was named after a fucking font. He held out his right hand this time and after checking if there was a whoopee cushion real quickly, you gave it a firm shake.

"Name's Olivia. Olivia the human!" It seemed the grin was permanent on this skeleton's face but relaxed when he wasn't as amused. Though he seemed to exude an aura of constant amusement anyway. How was the skull moving like that?!

"so you are human. that's hilarious." You blinked curiously. How so? "i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now..." If he noticed the stiffening of your frame and the highly amused expression dropping from your face at that, he didn't comment on it, "but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing anybody." You relaxed slightly; It hadn't even been twenty whole minutes outside of the RUINS. You really didn't want to run into any trouble just yet. He chuckled at that as you ran a hand through your smooth hair. You couldn't tie it up in a ponytail like you wanted to because it offered your neck a bit more protection from the freezing air.

"now my brother, papyrus..." You couldn't hold back the amused snort; Sweet Jesus, him too?! You waved away the weird look he gave you before he continued. "he's a human-hunting FANATIC." You tried to keep an unconcerned look on your face, but then he glanced behind you. "hey, actually, i think that's him over there."

"What?!" You couldn't help but look behind you with a wide eye, making him chuckle again. "don't worry, i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anybody." You crossed the bridge in a hurry, the skeleton walking behind you at a relaxed pace despite the fact you could see something white and black in the distance moving towards your position.

"quick, behind that inconveniently shaped lamp." You looked at a small, somehow child-shaped lamp just standing there a little bit away from what looked to be a sentry station before you tossed the skeleton a look of hurried disbelief.

"You can see how tall I am right? I can't hide behind that thing!"

"guess you're right... hide in my sentry station over there then." You shot towards it without another word and vaulted over the counter, dipping down into a crouch inside and taking a deep nervous breath. Why were there bottles of ketchup, mustard, and relish in here...?

It was then you noticed that Chara hadn't spoken ever since you shook Sans' hand. 'Hey, Chara... You doing okay?'

***......**

'Chara?'

 ***...I really have no idea how to react to what just happened.** You looked to your side to see Chara phase into your sight, having the blankest look you had ever seen on anyone other than yourself. You had to clasp a hand over your mouth to keep from laughing as you heard Sans speak from where you left him.

"sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER!" You jumped slightly at the loud voice, before biting your lip hard. Papyrus sounded like a beloved character of yours known as Skeletor. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T... RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?"

Chara had probably looked into your memories to understand who Skeletor was because they immediately burst into laughter. Lucky brat, you had to hold back the desperate chuckles...

Peeking up over the counter to get a glance of Sans' brother, you blinked to see a much more anatomically correct skeleton, at least skull-wise. His mandible was more elongated, and he was also much taller than Sans; You were sure you were only up to his jaw in height. He was rather nicely dressed as well; Formal black shoes, black slacks, and a long puffy sleeved white shirt, where the top few buttons were undone, slightly showing off his sternum. A red rose was pinned to his chest for the finishing touch.

Despite him being a skeleton, you had to admit he looked handsome.

"admiring the station. it's pretty cool. you wanna look?" You ducked back down with a quiet gasp; The fuck Sans?!

"NO!! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!!" Apparently, Papyrus' voice never leaves a ten. You would wonder if his throat ever got sore from yelling like that all the time, but he didn't have one. "I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE!! I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS," It was getting harder and harder trying to hold back laughter now- how could he roll his R's without a tongue?! "WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT, RECOGNITION..." My, my, a bit full of yourself there? "I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" Why did that sound like a question...? That seemed rather sad... "I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"

Alright, that sealed it.

Papyrus was a precious cinnamon roll.

"hmm... maybe it'll help if you look behind the sentry station." You peeked out from the side of the wooden construction to toss Sans a nasty glare, which strengthened into a mutinous one when he only tossed you a quick wink in reply. Was he really trying to get you captured? The hell?!

"SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!!" Okay. A highly _oblivious_ cinnamon roll. Because those hints were not subtle in the slightest. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!" You felt Chara grasp you tightly as they roared with laughter, and you had to hold your hurting stomach as you valiantly suppressed the giggles. "YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

"hey, take it easy. I've got a ton of work done today." Oh no... He's not gonna. Is he- "A skele- _ton._ "

You muffled your snort with your jacket as Chara gasped for breath. You could have sworn you heard the rimshot sound to emphasize Sans' joke. Hopefully, you weren't the only one who heard that...

"SANS!!" Oh, the irritated tone was  _priceless_.

"come on. you're smiling."

"I AM, AND I HATE IT! SIGH..." He said the word sigh like you did when you were irritated with your best friend! "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME... HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION...?"

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself..." No. Sans, have mercy. "down to the _bone_."

Oh god, you were collapsed and trembling in the snow at this point. It wouldn't matter if Papyrus finally got the point and found you, you were going to die happily of laughter. The fact that you heard the rimshot again didn't help.

"UGH!! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES... AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE... 'BACKBONE' INTO IT!!!!"

'Noooo, Papyrus, why have you joined the dark side?!' You cried mentally as you laughed as silently as possible, unable to get enough air to even make a sound anyway. There was a moment of silence as footsteps crunched away, the only sound (to you at least) was the panting of Chara trying to gain air.

"ok, you can come out now." He expected you to move?! The ache in your stomach was unbearable! "uh... kid?" Oh god, end the suffering...

"you okay there buddy?" All of a sudden, he was standing above you and watching you try to recover with a brow-bone raised.

"D-Damn you and your puns..." You were finally able to choke out as you tried to stretch your face into relaxing. "They are my ultimate weakness..."

"heh, i'll keep that in mind. but you might wanna get going. he might come back, and if he does, you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." He winked at you, somehow, and you struggled to stand up and grasp your bags before turning to go. He didn't have to tell you twice!

"oh, you need any help with that?" You looked to your side with a blink to see him keeping stride with you, eyeing your bags curiously and a little warily.

Why not? He seemed nice enough.

"Oh, well, sure I guess... You think you can hold this?" You carefully passed the duffle bag to him, because there was no way you were handing over your backpack. Your brow rose as he placed it on his shoulder with no trouble at all but then shrugged as you started to walk down the path.

"actually, hey... hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor?" You glanced down at him to show that you were listening. "i was thinking, my brother's been kinda down lately... he's never seen a human before. and seeing you might just make his day. don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be. ya mind?" Psh, as if you had to even think about cheering up the cinnamon roll.

"Not at all. I'll help." You looked back ahead, but you knew that that perma-grin of his had widened immensely.

"thanks a million."

"No problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all fucking rock. 
> 
> You have no idea how happy it makes me when you give Kudos and Comments saying how much you like this story. That is what keeps me going.
> 
> The adventure begins!


	8. I Used to Love the Snow...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking with Sans while trying to solve puzzles leads to some painful memories resurfacing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I post, like, daily, but I needed to take a break for the 4th. I'm back~!
> 
> Angst warning.
> 
> Anime references~!
> 
> Also... Writer's block is a bitch! Thank God for my lovely Savoye! Sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the others...

If it wasn't for the fact that you were being followed by a short, lazy skeleton that was holding some of your belongings, you were sure the travel to the little town of Snowdin that Toriel had told you about would have been much faster.

But, uh...

That wasn't the case.

Starting off, you cheerfully tapped the familiar violet spark- you noticed it looked like a four-pointed star- and as you felt the warmth washing over your frame upon saving, you realized had gained the attention of your new traveling mate.

"hey, buddy... whatcha doin' there?" You looked over at Sans to see those white little lights watching you curiously, and you glanced from the star and then back towards him before furrowing your brow.

"You mean... You can't see it?" His expression was turning slightly worried now...

" _tibia_ honest, bud, i have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout... there's nothin' there." Your frown deepened in confusion; What...?

 ***Only we can see the Ocramid, Olivia... Not even all humans can see it. Just us.** Ocramid, huh..? Humming softly to yourself, you straightened back up and let the confused look drop from your face.

"I guess it's nothing..." You murmured as you walked forward, ignoring the odd look before he shrugged and continued to walk beside you. That is, until he tugged on your jacket to make you stop.

"i see my bro up ahead. i'll be over there waiting, ok?" Looking forward to see where he was pointing, you squinted as a white and black blur came into focus.

"Oh, I got ya. But how-" Turning your gaze back, your eye widened as you realized he was no longer there.

Like, poof.

Gone.

No longer in existence.

"Now that's a ninja vanish if I've ever seen one..." You blinked slowly as you bit your lip, before something else came to mind. "Damn it, he still has my bag!" Now running forward as your eyes searched wildly for the mysterious skeleton, you soon skid to a stop as you came to the scene of said skeleton standing beside his much larger brother.

You gave a sigh of relief as you saw him still holding your bag. It may not have been your art or journals but you still had your electronics and clothes in that thing...

"OH SANS, THERE YOU ARE!" You could foresee many smiles every time you heard that voice... "SO AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE-" You couldn't help but stiffen a bit when the Skeletor-like cinnamon roll finally caught sight of you, and his eye sockets began to widen- whoa wait _how were actual eyes popping out of his skull?!_

Alright, now they were doing a classic The Mask moment, whipping their heads back and forth from each other and you, aaaand now they were spinning in place...

When they finally had their backs to you, you were very sure you and Chara had the most infamous deadpan face that, until now, you were aware only Saitama could perform...

"SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT... A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!" You bit your lip as they turned back towards you, and watched as Sans' bone brows furrowed. The little pinpricks of light were focused on something _behind_ you...

"uh... actually, I think that's a rock." You glanced behind yourself to see a rock laying innocently to the right of you, and your eye twitched as Chara slammed their head against your back with a soft, exasperated sigh.

"OH." The disappointment was evident on the skeleton's face and you literally had to hold back from jumping up and down and shouting, 'I'M RIGHT HERE!!'

"hey, what's that in front of the rock?" Oh yes, real smooth, Sans. Despite not really knowing how to react in this situation, your lips quirked up as literal sparkles surrounded Papyrus' face when he gazed upon you happily.

"OH MY GOD!!!" He turned to whisper loudly to his brother; Even whispering, you could still hear him loud and clear. "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?" Did... Most monsters not know what a human looked like?

"yes."

"OH MY GOD!!!"

Feeling awkward with just standing there silently, you raised a hand to wave and smiled in an unsure way. "Uh... Hi?"

"SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!!" Despite the fact you were not yet captured, you didn't want to point that out and destroy the high Papyrus seemed to be on. "UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO..." Even if you're a skeleton honey, you should take a breath... "POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!" Seeming to finally realize that you were a sentient being watching his fit, he cleared his throat as a light orange blush covered his cheekbones. You weren't even going to ask how those two things were possible, because magic was a subject that totally confounded you and clearly, to your normal scientific know-how, was a blatant middle finger towards common sense. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU!"

Sure dearie.

"YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL!"

Uh-huh.

"THEN... THEN!!!" You had to admit, you leaned forward to hear him continue in his speech.

"Then... What?"

"...I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." You burst into giggles at that, watching the orange glow of his blush brighten further before he performed a tsundere move and turned around with a flourish. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE!!" Then he ran off with a spectacular 'NYEH HEH HEH HEH!!'

You laughed harder as you began walking forward to stand next to Sans, who began chuckling quietly as well. "well, that went well."

"Oh gosh Sans, your brother is adorable! He's an innocent cutie!" You had to bite on your thumb to stop your laughter as the skeleton's perma-grin widened before he shrugged.

"yea, he means a lot ta me. only one i got left." Your smile softened as you gazed down at him, your eyes far away as you sighed softly.

"You're older?"

"mmhm."

"It must be nice... Having someone to care about like that..." You didn't notice the speculative look he turned up towards you, before you shook your head to rid yourself of the dark thoughts and moved forward once again. He fell in step beside you, and silence reigned for a little while before he decided to break it.

"sooo... ya don't have any siblings on the surface then?" Noticing your expression start to darken, he began to backpedal. "look, you ain't gotta-"

"Three. But, uh... We weren't close. Well, I was with one, at first... I'm the second oldest." He gave a languid blink as your gaze towards the snow suddenly turned... melancholy.

"well, uh... i won't push you on any of that info." You gave him a grateful glance before continuing to stare at your sneakers crunching through the snow. "but... that wouldn't have anything to do with why you're staring at the snow like it hurt ya or somethin', would it?"

"Rather observant, aren't you?"

"well, 'm a sentry.  s'my job."

"Fair enough, but from what I hear, you're kinda bad at it, huh lazybones?" He chuckled in response, raising his skeletal hands in defense.

"sorry, no need ta  _rattle my bones._ "

"Well, it seems you're trying to distract me by tickling my  _funny bone_ , pal." His head shot up towards you and his pinpricks seemed to dilate to the size of saucers in awe, his grin widening so much, you would have thought someone told him he had just won the lottery.

"nah, I prefer them to be _rib-ticklin'_."

"You're  _patellin'_ me, I was almost _dead_ from laughing back there." You shot each other a challenging look before you both burst into laughter, your manic giggles only strengthening as Chara let out a deep, despairing sigh.

"heh, very _p_ _unny_ , kid. you're pretty good at that." You shrugged a bit in response.

"It gives me the comedic relief I need in life."

"i hear that." You grinned in response as he glanced at you out of the corner of his eye sockets. "but, don't try to out-pun me bud. even if i don't have them, I am the  _cornea-_ copia of puns." He pointed towards his eye sockets, and your grin widened as you crossed your arms and narrowed your eye like a well-known and beloved meme.

" _Eye_ see what you did there. And you know what? Challenge accepted."

 The frigid air soon became filled with deep, hearty chuckles.

* * *

This was getting ridiculous.

You see, after raising a snowflake-like bird's confidence with his jokes, getting attacked and petting a dog monster who could only see moving things, getting a little lesson from Sans about blue stop signs, accepting a snowman's proposition to help him travel by taking a piece of him with you, and THEN running into Papyrus who had set up an 'invisible electricity maze' and gave you the answer to it by mistake all within the span of twenty minutes, you weren't sure if you would even get to Snowdin by the end of the night.

You had promised Toriel that you would call her when you got there, and you were sure she was already worried sick about you...

Deciding to say 'fuck it', you took out your phone and dialed her number. The phone gave three rings before she picked up.

"Hello? This is Toriel."

"Hey, Mom. It's Olivia."

"Oh, my dear! It hasn't even been an hour since you left! Did you manage to make it to Snowdin Town already?"

"Ah, no... There's been so much excitement, I think it's going to be a while until I make it there... I was just calling to tell you I was okay. I know you were worried."

"Oh! Well I was, but... Thank you for thinking of me." A warm smile bloomed on your lip, and you were sure your expression had softened.

"Of course Mom. But I'm gonna keep going, okay? I just wanted to tell you I was alright."

"Thank you, my child, you've put my heart at ease."

"I love you." You could practically  _feel_ her blush as you said those words.

"... I love you too, my child. Goodbye." You heard the click of her hanging up her phone, and you put it away with a soft hum as Sans rose a brow-bone at you.

"yer mom?"

"Mmhm." You hummed in reply before your eye widened on what appeared to be an ice-cream cart. You smothered your delighted squeal with your hands before you shot over to the cart, leaving a confused skeleton in your wake. Ignoring Chara's protests and their shaking head, you bought at least six of the 'Nice Creams', smiling at the absolutely excited bunny monster selling them before skipping back to Sans' side, who gave you an amused look as you shoved five of the sweet bars of deliciousness into your bag.

"nice cream, kid? in this weather?"

"Like I give a damn about all this cold. It's sweet, sugary goodness. My ultimate weakness." You quickly explained, slowly unwrapping the cold greatness and tasting it with your eyes first. You were sure Sans and Chara were getting creeped out by the fact that you were looking at a Nice-cream bar with a look usually reserved for significant others.

"thought puns were your weakness."

"Sweets were first. It has seniority over puns." You finally gave a tentative lick, and your eye widened because it tasted so good, it felt like your taste-buds were making love. The cold shiver going down your spine didn't mean shit to you. "Oh my God, I'm in heaven..."

"funny, thought this was the underground." You ignored him in favor of licking it all over with a soft whine of bliss. "you know too many of those will make you fat, right?" Your eye twitched and you shot a look over to him, making sure to establish eye contact before shoving the whole thing into your mouth as a clear 'fuck you', gaining a laugh in response. There was then a long comfortable silence as you giggled at the kind message on the nice cream wrapper, quickly finishing off the sweet, cold treat.

"so hey... about your mom..." You made a soft noise to let him know you were listening as you sucked on the bare wooden stick, "she fall down with you?" You frowned and looked over to him.

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?" He gave you a weird look, so you elaborated. "I fell by myself. No one was with me." Now HE was looking at you confused.

"but... you were just talking to your mom..." You two stared at each other for a bit before you realized what he was getting at.

"Oh!! No, no, ya see, there's a really nice monster lady in the RUINS who goes by the name of Toriel. She found me after I had fallen. She healed me and took me in. I stayed with her for quite a few months, and she was always sweet to me, so I see her as my mom." The edges of his grin sorta pushed together into an 'O' as his face cleared up in understanding, and you snickered at the sight.

"wouldn't your real mom be mad about that if ya ever get back up to the surface?" Feeling that immediate dark expression come down like an iron gate over your face, you couldn't help but scoff bitterly.

"Toriel IS my real mom. My 'biological' mother wasn't much of one... And my 'father' wasn't any better." You could feel Chara flinch at the venom in your voice, and the air around Sans turned just a bit somber. "And as for the surface? I hated it ever since I was nine. There's nothing left for me up there. I never want to go back." You didn't notice, but some type of tension eased from Sans' form at your words, making him sigh quietly in response.

"ah... 'm sorry for askin'."

"No, no, it's okay..." You stopped as you inhaled deeply, turning your gaze up to see dark clouds that should not be freaking existing spouting snowflakes. "Y'know... I used to love snow..." You heard him stop a few feet in front of you, being strangely quiet as he seemed to wait for you to go on. "Sure, Winter meant everything was either dead, or hibernating... Meant that days were shorter and the night reigned more often... But the way the snow looked when the sun rose... And despite how cold it was, it would always bring a warm smile to my family's face." Blinking back a tear, you could feel nostalgia wash over you briefly before it was gone.

"But then... Suddenly, upon my eighth winter, it all changed."

"...and... what was that...?"

Without even knowing it, the tale spilled from your lips as you closed your eye. "One winter's day, we had decided to go to the park..."

* * *

 _It was an enjoyably crisp winter day upon the surface, the afternoon sun doing nothing to the snow that had already caked the ground, which was slowly being added to by the snowflakes swirling_ _happily through the air._

_On this fine day, the setting would turn towards the local park of the city, an absolutely delighted child clad in a snowsuit, with smooth black hair reaching to her shoulders and two icy blue eyes ran through the snow with a completely innocent look of happiness on her precious little face. A boy, looking around the age of seventeen with black spiky hair and chocolate brown eyes chased her with a fond look on his face._

_"Olivia!" He called out to her as she deliberately landed on her back in the snow, and giggled as she began to make a snow angel in the knee deep snow as he trudged up to her. "Darn it Olivia, how you can run in snow like this is beyond me... I told you to be careful to where you run off to, you're so small, we could lose you in a second."_

_"But I have you, Leon!" She answered happily as he moved to pick her up, smiling in an admiring manner. "You always keep me safe! You're like my knight!"_

_"Well, you sure are pretty enough to be a princess." The child squealed in denial as he rubbed her head with a chuckle, and huffed cutely before her pout cleared up once more as she pointed down at her snow angel._

_"No, I'm an angel Leon!" He smiled in response, before nodding._

_"I believe that you little olive branch... So peaceful. You're going to help a whole lotta people one day. Just like an angel." She grinned happily in response as he set her back down, before looking at her with a sigh._

_"You wanna play, don't you?"_

_"Yep!"_

_"You're not gonna play fair, are you?"_

_"Probably not!" A deep, exaggerated sigh was the reply before he gave her a defeated look._

_"Hide and Seek?" She bobbed her head up and down rapidly as she nodded and he gave a long, suffering groan._

_"Is Lucas still too young to play?" She asked quietly, and he glanced discretely back over to where their five year old brother sat playing in the snow and watching them longingly. Behind him, sitting on the bench, was their father and pregnant mother, who, despite being married to each other, seemed to sit in a way that most people would think strangers would act towards one another._

_Leon didn't know why, but recently, their parents had been giving naive little Olivia looks that made him feel strangely uncomfortable..._

_"Yeah, he is... But soon, we'll be able to all play together, okay? Now how about you go hide, olive branch?" Her dimmed smile came back in full force at her nickname, and she nodded before she took off towards a cove of trees lining one side of the park as he covered his eyes. Her dear big brother was bigger and stronger than her, so Hide and Seek was really the only thing she could beat him at right now. So she'd be damned if she made it easy for him._

_Huffing and puffing by the time she made it over to the shelter of the trees, her little head whipped around as big bro started counting through his thirties, she looked for someplace to hide her body, and rather flashy pink snowsuit. Whining as she realized there was nothing, a cute look of determination settled onto her face as she turned fierce little eyes towards a climbable tree and set to work._

_Her big brother had taught her how to climb trees even though mommy and daddy didn't think it was 'lady-like', so she treasured the entire lesson and did it whenever she could._

_It was easy, because her small body and careful footing made it much harder for her to fall, and she had scaled up half of the tree in less than a minute._

_If she went up any farther, Leon would totally call her out on her cheating._

_She looked out over the view with wonder-filled eyes, the large mountain that Leon had said was called Mt. Ebott looming in the distance, and completely snow-capped. It was so pretty..._

_'I bet the monsters in the myths are actually really nice...' Olivia hummed softly to herself, kicking her legs as she sat carefully on a branch. 'If they're really real... I would want to help them...' And so, waiting for her brother to find her, she daydreamed..._

_She waited..._

_And waited..._

_And waited some more..._

 

_.........._

 

**_But nobody came._ **

 

 

* * *

 

"I was left there... My parents had apparently just grabbed my brothers and left without even checking if I was there. My brother kicked up such a fuss about it. As dusk fell and it got even colder, I began to wonder where brother was... When I had finally gained the sense to climb down and go looking for them, they were nowhere to be found. I remember how cold I felt, how the tear tracks running down my face froze to the point where I had gotten early stages of frostbite on my cheeks..." Your voice was quiet and faraway and as the memory faded, you blinked before turning to look at Sans; The lights of his eyes had dimmed rather considerably while he watched you. "I went to the nearest police station, like I was always taught to do... And when they tried to take me back to my parents, they tried to act like they didn't know who I was. If it wasn't for my brother, who ran out to greet me after he realized the police had me, I would have been taken away." You took a deep breath, feeling the grip Chara suddenly had on your hand. "They tried to get my parents on abandonment charges, but nothing would stick. And after all that mess was over, my brother started ignoring me too."

Reaching up to wipe away the hot tears welling in your eye, you released a shuddering sigh. "That's how it all started with my parents. First they ignored me. Then they would yell at me. And then when they got tired of that..." You gripped the arm Chara was hanging onto in a reflex, and when you caught the movement of his eyes following your hand, you forced yourself to relax and let go. "Anyway... The snow doesn't hold any good memories for me anymore." A deep, uncomfortable silence hung in the air as you tried to assess his mood, and you bit your lip in worry.

"Hey... Sans, come on. You can't be  _frozen stiff_ , you're a skeleton." You admit you breathed a little easier when a rough chuckle came from him; As dark as his eye sockets had been, you had been momentarily frightened. That was creepy as fuck.

" _tibia_ honest, kid, even a comedian like me just can't bounce back from a story with _soul_ -deep baggage like that." A weak, little laugh escaped you in response.

"You already used one of those." He shrugged in reply.

"they can't all be winners, bud. you run out of material eventually." He glanced away once before looking back towards you. "but... now your SOUL makes a bit more sense." You made a confused sound as you stood closer to him, frowning.

"Eh...? What do you mean? I'm figuring you saw my SOUL when Snowy had challenged me to a dance battle earlier, but..." He blinked before blatantly staring where your SOUL resided within you.

"well, my magic allows me to judge the SOULS of others... i can see 'em without takin' 'em out of people's bodies." Your brow shot into your bangs at that, suddenly feeling self-conscious as you tried not to squirm from his piercing gaze. He noticed and looked away, but not before you caught the radiant blue blush covering his face.

"your SOUL is riddled with cracks. even though your HP is full." You gave a sound of acknowledgment, already knowing this info.

"And let me guess, it's because my life before I fell was, to put it bluntly, shit?" As he nodded, you gave a soft sigh. "Not surprised."

"not exactly sure what the color of your SOUL means though." Giving him another inquisitive look, he sighed and began to explain. "souls, for humans, are usually one color, well, at least for kids. never seen a adult human before... anyway, 's the color of your most dominant trait and the type of magic you'd have if you learn how to control it. monster's are white, because of all the magic we hold. but for humans, purple is perseverance, blue is integrity, cyan is patience," At this one, his expression seemed to shift bitterly, "green is kindness, yellow is justice, orange is bravery, and red is determination. these aren't the only ones, but they're the most common. except red. red is really one of the rarest kinds." He glanced once more towards your chest before looking away. "but yours is... grey. 'nd... pink. 've never seen that before. got any idea what that is?"

You shrugged, showing you had no idea. "I can only make an educated guess."

"lay it on me."

"Apathy." You murmured softly, watching his eyes flicker up towards you. "Life on the surface seemed less painful if I... Just acted like I didn't care. So, as I got older, that became my mask. And eventually, it felt like Apathy became a part of me." His eye sockets narrowed slightly.

"and the pink?"

"I really have no idea." He stared for a bit longer before chuckling.

"you don't seem that apathetic to me."

"Oh?"

"an apathetic person wouldn't try to make a person they didn't know happy by playing along with their puzzles... or laugh at jokes or puns." Your brows furrowed as you tried to think of a retort, but...

 ***He's right Olivia... Maybe you aren't as apathetic as you used to be.** You glanced down with a frown, mulling that idea over in your mind. That idea...

'The thought scares me...'

"so yeah, maybe it is apathy," Your gaze snapped back up towards Sans as he gave a nonchalant shrug, "but i think it's more likely to mean something else instead. and as for the pink? we'll figure it out sooner or later. but anyway," Sans suddenly grasped your hand, and you gasped as he continued to pull you forward, tossing a wink and a wide grin back towards you, "how about me and my bro overwrite a bad memory in the snow with a good one?"

Your eye widened at his proposition, your hand tightening on his magically warm skeletal fingers as Chara giggled and began piggybacking your form.

 ***Not even two hours has passed and this is already fun!** Your lips twitched up at the corners as you once again began to move forward with a soft chuckle.

'I wonder what else is in store for me here.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies~! If you are wondering about the change in hair color between Chibi Olivia, and Grown Olivia, I have the explanation you need. There is a condition known as Marie Antoinette's Syndrome- when inflicted by torture, extreme fright, and/or abuse, the victim's hair will turn grey/silver/white, even if the victim is young. This idea is now used in many religious texts to show that a grave sorrow has happened towards the protagonist.
> 
> A very dark reveal of that, but you gotta use what you know.
> 
> Intense foreshadowing and some points to Sans~!


	9. Wish I Coulda Noped Myself Outta This Situation...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the angst out of the way, Olivia travels forward to Snowdin and has ANOTHER near-death experience!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to our regularly scheduled program! 
> 
> I would celebrate that this is Chapter 10, but the very first chapter wasn't much of one, so this is really Chapter 9.
> 
> Gigantic panic attack created by aichmophobia warning in this chapter.

After such a tender moment that made you sure that someone else other God was taking control of your life (AN: Wink wink!), it seemed rather impossible to wipe off the small smile after it took purchase on your lips.

It took a while, but you should have known Life would have gone, 'lol, one sec', and decide to screw you over.

At first, you were completely confused as to how Sans just seemed to appear and disappear from your side to Papyrus' side whenever he was around, but decided not to question it for two reasons.

1: Sans was in fact a monster sentry, and if he was seen amicably by your side, it would probably cause some problems, even though you doubted his adorable brother would have minded.

2: Magic didn't give a fuck if you understood it or not.

So you decided to just roll with it the next time Papyrus decided to confront you. Which in fact, happened in the next room.

Passing mental jokes back and forth with Chara, you blinked as you finally came to a stop in front of a lazy skeleton holding your bag and a hyped up taller skeleton looking as though your presence was making his entire week.

Huh. That was an interesting new feeling.

"HUMAN! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..." You could literally see the exclamation mark over his head as he glanced down at the snowy ground to find nothing but a slip of paper. "SANS!! WHERE IS THE PUZZLE?!" And to think he never commented on the fact Sans was holding your bag...

"it's right there. on the ground. trust me. there's no way they can get past this one." Blinking, you walked over to the piece of paper and picked it up, immediately biting your tongue to keep from saying something vulgar.

A fucking _crossword?_ Seriously Sans?

Giving a deep sigh, you slung your backpack off your shoulder, ignoring the curious looks as you pulled out a pencil. As a writer and an artist, you carried pens and pencils wherever you went.

You paced around for less than a minute as you easily caught all the words but one, and frowned before cautiously approaching the much taller skeleton.

"Uh... Papyrus?"

"YES HUMAN?" If he noticed your flinch at his loud voice, he didn't comment on it.

"I got everything except one.... This really long one is unsolvable because there's a 'u' where there should be an 'e'..." Passing the paper over to him, his eye sockets (which you noticed were much longer, thinner and didn't have the lights like Sans') widened before he turned to fuss at his brother.

"SANS! A CROSSWORD?! SERIOUSLY?!?!" Thank you for agreeing, Papy dear. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY HARDER!!" Ooookay, never mind then...

"what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble?" You had to admit, watching the two of them banter back and forth was better than TV. "that's for baby bones." You blinked as you began to wonder what a baby skeleton monster looked like. The creature was probably cute as fuck...

"UN. BELIEVABLE. HUMAN!!!" You jolted out of your thoughts at his loud calling, looking up at his kind smiling skull as you tried to calm your racing heart. "SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!!!"

"E-Er, well, uh..." You tried find the right words as he waited with bated breath, "Both are very easy to me... I don't have a problem with them..." You murmured softly, wincing as his happy expression slowly began to turn to disappointment before an idea popped into your head. "A-Actually, if you really want to see something hard..." You put on a determined expression on your face as you unzipped your backpack and began to search through it. The skelebros watched you curiously as your eyes narrowed and you shifted through the papers until your hand landed on something hard and cube-shaped...

"Found it!!" Your shout caused the bros and even Chara to jump as you pulled out a familiar looking unsolved puzzle with a flourish before holding it out to Papyrus. "This little beauty right here... Is called a Rubix Cube." He blinked once before looking down at said cube, analyzing all of the colorful separated little squares.

"AND... WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH IT HUMAN?" Smiling brightly, you didn't notice Sans watching you both carefully, a slightly impressed expression creasing his skull.

"Well, the most basic thing to do is try and get all of one color on a single side and you're supposed to do that with all the colors. You do that by twisting the rows and columns around, like this," As you performed your exact words, sparkles appeared in his sockets and you had to hold back a giggle, "And that's pretty much it. Once you get tired of doing that, you can try to make patterns with it." Seeming entranced by the little cube, he reached out for it, and giving him an encouraging nod as he glanced back at you to see if it was okay, took it into his hands and began to examining it much more closely.

"WOWIE... HUMANS ARE QUITE SMART, COMING UP WITH SUCH AN INVENTION! IT REMINDS ME OF THE NEXT PUZZLE!" Sans chuckled softly, and you glanced over to see him giving his brother a fond look.

So cute...

"Hey, Papyrus... Would you like to keep it?" He gave such a dramatic gasp at your words as he turned back towards you with an astonished expression.

"REALLY HUMAN?! THIS IS NOT A JAPE, IS IT?!?!" Blinking slowly, you smiled and shook your head as Chara gave a huff and wrapped their arms around you almost possessively.

"No, of course not Papyrus... I've solved it over a million times and started over a million times... I've had it for a while, so if it doesn't bother you that it's a bit old, you can keep it if you wa-aaACK!!" You were unexpectedly cut off as he grabbed you up in a bone-crushing hug (pun intended), and squeezed you tightly, making you choke out a groan and drop your backpack, while Chara squealed in shock as they were pulled up in collateral, even though Papyrus didn't know it.

"MANY THANKS, KIND HUMAN!! THE GREAT PAPYRUS CHERISHES SUCH A GIFT!" You could feel yourself becoming dizzy as he spun you around, the random display of affection throwing you off. Chara cried out as they were swung around like a rag doll as a result.

 ***Make him stop! Make him put you down!!** Chara fussed with a tone you could not recognize in their voice.  ***This is madness!! Damn it- PUT OLIVIA DOWN!**

Whoa, quiet down there cowboy, you're not helping the already hurting head. Besides, the cinnamon roll can't hear you.

"paps, i think she's getting dizzy..." Sans interjected with a slightly exasperated look.

"WHOOPS! MY APOLOGIES!!" Setting you back onto your feet, you stumbled as you tried regain your footing, which caused Papyrus to grip your arm to help you. "ANYWAYS HUMAN! I MUST MOVE FORWARD TO GET THE NEXT PUZZLE READY FOR YOU! THANK YOU FOR THE NEW PUZZLE!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" He chuckled his unique laugh as he then ran off once again, leaving you standing there trying to fix your sight with a grumbling ghost child hanging onto your midsection.

"uh... wow?" You glanced over to Sans, gripping your aching forehead as he tried-and failed-to keep the highly amused expression on his face at bay. "my bro is rather innocent and all... trying to make friends with everyone... but that was something new."

"Oh yeah...?" You murmured as you rubbed your head, moving to pick up your fallen backpack and swing it back onto your shoulders after zipping it back up.

"yep. but thanks for doing something so nice, he looks like he's having fun. he's pretty weird when it comes to puzzles; yesterday he got stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope." You couldn't help the smile that crossed your face at his words.

"Sans, any chance I can keep your cinnamon roll of a brother?"

"not on my dust buddy."

"Damn."

* * *

Now, while you were used to walking around for long periods of time, this cold air was starting to blow right through you and you had continuously stop yourself from shaking like a leaf right in front of Sans. Even with strenuous activity that would warm you up, such as one sentry dog who whenever you tried to pet him, his neck would extend (Sans had to literally drag you away from him), a cute sentry dog couple who became convinced you were a puppy after you rolled around in the snow (much to Sans' extreme glee), solving a few more puzzles from Papyrus, with the list going on and on... You were reaching your limit.

Truth be told, you were showing a considerable amount of patience with everything, despite it not being a virtue you normally held.

But... Yeah, that was coming to an end quite quickly.

You and Sans were at an ice puzzle where you had to switch blue Xs to red Os and then press the switch in order to get over a gap... And now you were on your fifth try.

"Oh SHIIIIIIIIT-!" The cry was unstoppable as you slipped off the edge again and plummeted with a shriek down into the snow underneath it, performing another lovely faceplant.

'Make that six Optima-chama...' The thought flit by in your mind before you sighed. Chara had gotten bored around the fourth time you failed and said they were just going to hang around in your mind for a bit, leaving you completely alone with Sans. Sitting back up, you clasped your freezing hands to your chest as you shivered. The only thing that Toriel forgot to give you was a pair of gloves, and man, were you suffering from that oversight.

You shot a miffed glance towards Sans as he appeared next to you once again, laughing to himself as he wiped a blue tear away from his eye socket.

"kid, wow... how are you funny without even trying to be?" You stuck your tongue out at him as you rubbed your hands together, trying to desperately create some heat. 

"So glad that my pain can provide some comedy for you." He chuckled as you let your eyes gloss over the snow Papyrus and the lump of snow with his name written into it with red marker before blowing into your cupped hands, unaware he was watching you. That is, until he shuffled over to your side and took your hands into his.

Your eye widened in awe as his warm phalanges grasped your thin, freezing fingers, and you ignored the soft shudder from him (presumingly caused by your cold hands), in order to examine the bones more closely.

"Wow..." You whispered softly, completely unaware of his gaze watching your studious expression. "You're so warm... That's the magic in you right? Magic is amazing... Absolutely confusing, but amazing..." A light blue flush spread over his cheeks as he continued to hold your soft hands before pulling them away with a soft clearing of his nonexistent throat, watching you immediately stuff your hands into your jacket to try and conserve the warmth.

"come on bud, we gotta keep going. papyrus gets impatient easily. you sure you don't want any help on the puzzle?  _icy_ solutions to them pretty easily." He was no longer surprised by your prideful glare at even the suggestion of help.

"I told you I got it, damn it!" You insisted as you marched right back up to the puzzle, trying to ignore the shit-eating grin he was flashing you.

"sure ya do."

"You're an ass."

"can't be what I don't have, kiddo." He burst out laughing at your aghast rose-tinted expression before watching you throw yourself back into the puzzle and managing to solve it this time, punctuated by a touchdown dance as you skipped across the bridge and sliding through the trees with a triumphant shout.

* * *

 

It was then Life decided to kindly remind you that you were its' bitch.

After battling another dog sentry (who was just a little white dog in a absolutely huge suit of armor), you continued your trek over a rock formation that looked a whole lot like a bridge, trying to be very careful with your steps over what seemed to be an absolutely endless drop. Chara, who had decided to join you again after a bit, was not exactly helping your well-founded anxiety.

 ***Just don't think about falling, or slipping.** Your eye twitched at the familiar phrase from a beloved cartoon of yours, and you tried to ignore their teasing words.  ***Or plummeting. Or gravity... Or losing your balance. And especially don't think about-**

'Okay, you know what you little brat, you're  _really_ starting to-' Catching sight of Sans and Papyrus right ahead of you, you stopped just as you were about to give the ghost child an earful, feeling nervousness creep up your spine as Papyrus saw you. Oh, please don't let this mean-

"HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!"

God damn it.

"U-Uh, does it have to be on this bridge...?" You asked as you tried not to shake. _'On this very thin, slick bridge....'_

"OF COURSE HUMAN! THAT IS WHAT ADDS TO THE DANGER!!" Nonononono, you adorable bag of bones, please don't do this... "BEHOLD, THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!" At his words, many deadly things did indeed appear hanging from both sides above you and below you- _was that a white dog hanging from a rope?_ "WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!! CANNONS WILL FIRE!! SPIKES WILL SWING!! BLADES WILL DICE!!"

"...Dog will Dog?" You couldn't help but add weakly, watching Papyrus give you a deadpan as Sans chuckled under his breath. You were still wondering how a skull could make expressions like tha- wait....

Did he just say-

An icy, much colder than your surroundings, feeling of fear dropped like a cold bucket of water over your form as your eye fell on sharp-looking spears, gleaming in the artificial light of the underground. They looked too much like-

***No, wait, Olivia, please-!**

A terrified scream left your throat before you could stop it, making the skelebros jump in shock as you skittered back in fright, your wide eye still stuck on the blades dangling in front of you. You didn't see their eye sockets widening as you stumbled too close to the edge of the bridge. You were too focused on how they looked like gigantic  _knives-_

"whoa, hey kid, be careful, you're gonna-"

"HUMAN, WATCH OUT!"

It was much too late as your foot slipped upon some hard-to-see ice, and you gasped as you teetered over the edge, looking down into oblivion...

And with a large push from a breezy wind, you were falling.

***OLIVIA!!!**

"HUMAN!"

You were too surprised to even make a sound as you felt your foot leave the surface of the bridge, the world suddenly slowing down like many people say it does during a moment of crisis... You shut your eye tightly as you waited to feel your body begin to plummet and gain speed through the air.

But instead, you felt something completely different from what you expected.

You heard a strange sound to the right of you before a bony hand roughly grasped your wrist, and for a split second, you felt nothing...

And the next second, you were sprawled across the snow and somehow on the other side of the bridge, eye wide and choked gasps leaving your lungs. Three figures were looming over you (though two were not aware of the third), and speaking in such fast, worried, and frightened tones, you could only catch bits and pieces of what each of them was saying.

"oh god, kid, you gave us such a scare-"

"WHAT HAPPENED HUMAN?! YOU HADN'T SHOWN SUCH FEAR TOWARDS THE OTHER PUZZLES-"

***Olivia snap out of it, you're okay-!**

"you need to breath bud, calm down, just listen-"

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! WHY ARE YOU BREATHING SO FAST-"

***Oh God Olivia I'm so sorry I was just joking about you tripping earlier I didn't mean for it to actually happen! Sans saved you and I'm so glad he did and I'm just SO glad you're okay-**

_"Put it away!!"_ You screeched, cutting off their speech as you tried to back way from the bridge, your wide eye gazing unseeingly towards it but it didn't matter because you KNEW it was still there. You could feel the brothers staring at you in shock and Chara gripping you tightly in a hug as they whimpered and trembled, but you ignored it because you weren't going to relax until it was all GONE.

"easy pal, what do you-"

"The  _knives!_ " You kept going in a hysterical voice, pointing towards the bridge as you began to hyperventilate. " _Make it go away!_ Knives are _evil_ , they hurt, they _kill,_ I don't care how or where they go but for the love of everything that is holy in this world, someone  _put it away!!!_ " You begged with a pitiful shriek.

"shit- paps, put the traps away, quick!!" Sans demanded, and Papyrus wasted no time in scrambling up and making all the traps go away as Sans started working on making you calm down by speaking to you in a low, soothing voice. "they're put away now olivia, they're gone... take deep breaths, you need to relax, the cracks in your SOUL look like they're getting irritated." He grasped your hand and placed the palm of it against his chest, and you could feel him taking deep breaths. It wasn't long before Papyrus returned from his task and seeing what Sans was doing, copied his actions evidenced by the feel of the satin material you could feel underneath your hand.

You could feel their bony sternums underneath their clothes and how they seemed to expand and contract just a little as they breathed. Soon, you were attempting to match their deep, slow breaths, feeling Chara sob silently against your neck as they held onto your form as tight as they could. Full minutes passed before you even gained any semblance of control of your breathing and your violent trembling became a mere shake.

"there... your SOUL is calming down now... you feelin' a bit better?" You merely nodded, knowing you couldn't trust your voice at the moment as Papyrus put down your hand.

"HUMAN!!" Noticing your flinch and soft whimper, his apologetic expression deepened further, causing him to surprise you by lowering his voice. "I apologize, I did not know that those traps would make you so distraught! I hadn't meant to make you cry!" You reached up at that to wipe at your eye and inwardly groaned that yes, you were indeed crying. "It was very rude of me, please forgive my mistake!"

You were sure that in any other situation you would have been pissed beyond measure, but you knew Papyrus meant you no harm. He had even tried desperately to make you calm down.

Though perhaps it was the fact that Chara was glaring at him with such heat that made you jump at the chance to ease his fears.

"I-It's okay, P-Papyrus... I-I know you d-didn't mean for t-this to happen..." You attempted a wobbly smile as his expression slowly cleared itself from the deep sadness, taking a shuddering breath. "Y-You didn't know... Y-You had no idea that I was afraid of.. kn- kn-"

"don't say it kid.. it'll throw you back into a panic attack... just know we understand, ok?" You looked over to Sans to see dim lights staring back at you, and you gave a hesitant nod, watching him give a deep sigh of what seemed to be relief. Noticing you were looking at your still connected hands, he dropped yours quickly, adverting his gaze as a light cyan flushed over his cheekbones. "can you stand?" Taking a deep breath, you shakily stood on jelly like legs, being helped up by Papyrus and trying to stand right with an absolutely clingy Chara refusing to loosen their death grip around your stomach. Making the skelebros believe you were fine took a lot of convincing, but they reluctantly conceded once they realized you were getting irritated by their hovering, and Papyrus rushed off as Sans handed you your duffle bag.

"be safe kid." And with that, he too vanished.

 ***Are you sure it's too late to go back to Mom...?** Chara whispered softly, making you sigh as you looked over to them.

'We knew it would be dangerous when we left... We can't stop now.' Even with that reminder towards them, you almost cried with relief as you caught sight of a cozy looking town with a friendly looking sign off to the side.

_**Welcome to Snowdin.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sniffles softly*
> 
> Over 50 comments...  
> 50 kudos...  
> And over 500 hits? In the course of a week?
> 
> I dun deserve such love~! You guys are awesome...
> 
> Another fourth wall break!
> 
> Oh, and are you getting a little jealous there Chara? I think you are~ We're finally in Snowdin! Bet you can guess what's next!


	10. I'm Fired Up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A strange nightmare leads to a tender moment with Chara, and then after a friendly meal with Sans, you head off to face the music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings lovelies~! Now for your awaited chapter~!
> 
> Alcohol reference in this one.
> 
> This is my tenth chapter! Yay~!!

_Darkness._

_For as long as you could remember, the darkness was your friend. It kept you hidden, let you see the stars at night. It would swallow you up when the pain from the constant beatings got too strong. Made your parents believe that the soft sounds you made as you slipped away was just their imagination._

_This darkness... Wasn't that darkness._

_It wasn't cool and comforting._

_It was hot and malicious._

_You could feel sweat pooling on your brow and down your neck as you stared into the abyss._

_Then something began to take form within your line of sight. Something pretending to be metallic, and it gave a barely there gleam. You knew exactly what it was._

_It was that Toy Knife from the RUINS._

_And then, all of a sudden, the scene changed. You were back in the familiar light violet catacombs, looking through your own eye. But the homey feeling that you usually felt there was gone._

_It was eerily silent. You felt gritty, as though there was sand on your skin. There was a little hand on your shoulder; Chara, you assumed. You wanted to look back, to see if they were alright, but your body wouldn't obey you. You instead walked forward, towards where you knew Toriel's house awaited._

_Something was wrong here. Very very wrong._

_The scene changed again, to what you remembered was the fight against Toriel. But this time, you were off to the side, watching as a bystander. Toriel, looking as graceful and motherly as ever, was trying to stop you from leaving. Her flames danced in and out of your vision, and as another flame passed, your eye landed on yourself._

_A chill ran down your spine. Something was different._

_It was you, yes... But the expression on your face. It was something you couldn't describe. There was something gray and dusty on your clothes. And the gleam in your own eye that was not yours..._

_That... person... They were sparing Toriel. But there was an uncomfortable knot twisting in your stomach as you watched a small, cruel looking smile curl your counterpart's lips. It was like they couldn't feel their pain despite being low on health. You glanced at the HP, and a soft, shocked gasp left you._

_2/28. What?_

_Your HP was only twenty. You knew this for a fact. You had no idea what LV meant... But whatever it was, it wasn't like leveling up in a video game. Her's was up to 3. Your's was only 1._

_That must have meant it wasn't good at all._

_The flames ceased. Your anxiety shot through the roof. Your wide gaze landed on Toriel as she tried to talk you into going upstairs._

_You wanted to warn her. Scream. Do anything to tell her to run and get out of there. But it was no use. She couldn't hear you._

_All you could do was watch and scream silently in horror as the toy knife took her in one hit._

_"You betrayed me, and so I betrayed you." Said your counterpart as Toriel's body faded into nothing but gray dust._

_Dust that looked exactly like the dust on her clothes._

_You watched, numb, as Toriel's white SOUL, the very thing that gave you so much comfort, shattered into pieces before fading away._

_You trembled. Something began to build up inside you as you watched your counterpart's face become expressionless as they moved towards the door, stepping on Toriel's remains like she was nothing. Nothing could have stopped your outraged call._

_"You.... You...! YOU... MURDERER!!"_

* * *

 

You shot up with a frightened gasp, waking out of your nightmare covered in sweat and your heart beating harshly. Looking around wildly as you tried to make sense of your surroundings, you felt a gentle hand grasp your arm and shake lightly.

You looked to your side to see Chara laying beside you, looking up at you with worried crimson eyes.

 ***What's wrong...? Was it a nightmare...? I would have kept it away, but I was tired too...** With your haphazard breathing beginning to slow, you looked fondly upon the child with a tired eye, before placing a hand on your forehead as you groaned.

"What... What happened Chara...? What is this room?"

 ***You mean you don't remember? We made it in Snowdin, and you were so tired that we came immediately to this inn called Snowed Inn.** You chuckled softly at that; Of course it was a pun. ***The nice bunny lady gave you your key after we paid, and we came to this room. As soon as you hit the bed, you fell asleep.**

"Oh yeah... Now I remember..." You murmured softly, gently rubbing the left side of your face as you sighed. You definitely remembered how expensive this place was: 80 _fucking_ G a night. It was a good thing Toriel sent you off with a whole lot of money...

_Toriel..._

Scrambling from bed and shooting towards your bag, you ripped your phone out of it and began dialing the goat woman's number as Chara looked on in confusion.

_Ring Ring..._

_Click!_

"Hello? This is Toriel." It would have been an understatement to say your relief swelled immensely at the sound of her voice. You felt yourself relax onto your knees as you sighed.

"Hi, Mom... I made it to Snowdin... I'm sorry, I would have called you earlier, but I was so tired..."

"Do not worry my child. I figured such would happen. But I am glad you are safe and rested. You _are_ safe, yes?"

"I am Mom." It didn't seem like a good idea to tell her about the bridge accident... "Snowdin looks like such a nice place. The people here are very kind too."

"Well, that's very nice to hear my dear." You heard something beeping in the background, and she made a soft startled noise. "Ah, I'm afraid I have to go my child. I have something in the oven. Thank you very much for calling me."

"Oh, okay Mom. Glad to know you're alright." You gave another soft sigh. "Talk to you later."

"Goodbye, my child." Gently tossing your phone back onto your bag, you huffed as you leaned against the side of the bed, gently rubbing at your crown with your fingertips.

"Ugh..."

***Uh... Olivia?**

"Yes Chara...?" You grumbled softly.

 ***Your SOUL...** Blinking, you finally looked up from your lap to see your soul just floating there in front of you, making you give a double take.

"Dafuq? I didn't even feel it leave..." You murmured, reaching out to cup it in your palms as you stood up.

 ***You were so anxious about your nightmare, it left your body without you knowing it.** Frowning, you sat on the edge of your bed, studying the fractures spilling ultraviolet light and the light pink streaks swirling around it, making it seem more vibrant.

Then something new caught your eye.

"What is this...?" You raised a finger up to lightly trace it over a bright red lining around your soul, blinking as Chara giggled suddenly when they wrapped their arms around your shoulders.

 ***That's me. That tickles Olivia.** You gave them a well-founded look of shock.

"What do you mean that's you? It wasn't here before..."

 ***Sure it was! It was just so faint, you couldn't see it. My SOUL was red when I was still living. You see how thin it is still?** They placed a hand over yours as they gestured to the bright red part. **I'm still not very strong, considering I'm a spirit who's living off your SOUL. In a way, I'm like a parasite.** Their tone was melancholy and slightly bitter as they explained themselves. ***** **You see, when you fell onto the site where I was buried, I somehow latched myself onto you. My spirit was awakened by the sheer amount of determination in your SOUL when you hit the ground, and so, the more determination you have, the bigger the effect of my presence. There was much more when you fell than it has now for some reason...** They glanced to you in question and you quickly looked down, really not wanting to explain yourself. ***...Anyway, if you had rejected me after realizing I was there, I would have died off again.... But you didn't. You welcomed me rather enthusiastically, and because of that, your SOUL diverts a bit of its energy to keep me stable. Also, the longer I stay with you, the stronger I get. But it's still your SOUL, and I won't take it from you. As long as you are well, your SOUL holds an infinite amount of energy to spare, so that's why keeping me here doesn't strain you in** **any way.**

"Huh..." You hummed in reply at that, continuing to trace the red lining with your thumb, making them shake against you as they laughed, squeezing you tighter.

 ***Nooo! Olivia, I told you that tickles~! Plehs Stahp!!** Grinning, you chuckled at their laughter before letting your soul go.

"Sorry sweetie, I couldn't resist." Their eyes seemed to glisten happily at the affectionate nickname, and they nuzzled their face deep into your neck as they mumbled.

 ***I'm glad you let me stay with you...** You smiled to yourself as you grasped their hand, watching your soul phase back into your body.

"I am too Chara..." You whispered softly, leaning back into their hold with a content sigh.

The tender moment was ruined by a quiet knock at the door.

"knock knock." Chara sighed deeply at the baritone voice coming muffled through the door, and reluctantly let go of your form as you stood up, grasping the fluffy complementary robe that came with staying at the inn and pulled it over to you to hide your arms and legs as you strolled over to the door.

"Who's there?"

"canoe."

"Canoe who?"

"canoe open the door? i wanna talk to you, not the door." You chuckled at that, opening the door and unsurprised to see the skeletal comedian himself.

"Good one."

"thanks. you uh... feelin' any better from yesterday?"

"A little shaken up, but I'll live. Thanks for asking."

"mm." He looked past you curiously, his brow bone creasing slightly as he glanced back up at you. "yer alone?"

"Yeeeeeessss....?" You answered, regarding him with an odd look as you leaned against the door frame. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "jus' thought i heard ya talkin' to someone."

You felt proud on how you answered that question with a believable dismissive tone and gesture. "I talk to myself a lot. Keeps me busy."

"huh." The two of you then became locked in a stare down, before you rose your brow.

"How'd you even know which room I was in?"

"oh, the lady downstairs told me after i described what you looked like." Your brow rose further.

"So, did you need something or....?" He blinked before hitting his forehead with his palm, making you have to bite your lip to keep from laughing at the hollow sound his skull gave off.

"can't believe i forgot... you hungry kid?" You opened your mouth to reply but was cut off by your stomach which helpfully interjected with a loud gurgle. Two sets of laughs were the result as you glared at the sheer audacity of such an action.

"Down Simba... Whelp, there's your answer."

"hehe... cool, i've got a place in mind." Unable to hold back, you shot him a devious smile.

"You asking me out bone boy? We only met yesterday." A bright cyan blush spread to cover his whole face, sweat beading on his forehead as his eye sockets went completely dark and his grin turned a little strained.

"u-uh.. that's... a-actually kiddo, i-uh.." Seeing your shoulders begin to shake at his reaction, his brow furrowed as his grin became more of a grimace. "that was a joke, wasn't it...?"

"Yeah, and I got you good, dude. You threw a ball at the center of the plate, and I just had to swing." You chuckled in reply as you gave his shoulder a pat. "I'm up for some grub. Just let me get dressed, kay?" Seeing him nod slowly, you closed the door again before moving to get dressed.

* * *

How in the hell had he fallen for that? He left himself wide open for that joke!

Sans scrubbed at his face with bony fingers, leaning against the wall next to the door, and attempting to try and will away the blush he just KNEW was still there.

It was stupid of him not to have caught that because _he_ would have definitely done the same thing!

And it didn't help his pride that as he left his house earlier, he had to convince himself that this would just be a friendly thing between himself and a human.

.......

Who was female.

A very _pretty_ and _psychologically scarred ADULT_ female...

He shook his skull to immediately derail the thoughts, running his phalanges down his face with a sigh.

He didn't understand. Everything about this situation was wrong. This shouldn't have been possible. _She_ shouldn't have been the one walking out of the RUINS. It should have been Frisk, the brat he knew and hated as well as cared for. But here she was. And here he was, waiting for her to get herself ready and talk to her about his brother.

She seemed... kind. Almost unwillingly kind though. As though she was afraid that doing so would get her hurt, or worse. From what she told him, and what he could sense, her life was pretty damn difficult on the surface. And maybe it was just the scientist in him talking, but...

If she could go through the hell he could tell she went through, yet not be able to bring herself to hurt anyone...

"Alrighty comedian, I'm ready." Brought out of his ruminating, he glanced over to the side and was suddenly very glad his hood was hiding his face.

Like yesterday, the right side of your face was completely covered by your hair, but that wasn't what attracted his immediate attention. With your hair pulled back into a pony tail, a gray form-fitting long-sleeved turtleneck and black slacks fitting snug around your hips....

Hot damn, he could see how fit you were... And well-endowed at that.

"lookin' a little _top-heavy_ there, bud." He watched you blink and then narrow your eye, making him give a subtle gulp. Whoops.

"Shut up, Skull-for-brains." You griped, gripping the top of his hood and pulling it down over his skull. Jackass. "So we goin' to this place you were talking about or what?" Crossing your arms, you watched him push the hood back into place before he cleared his throat nervously.

"uh, yeah... i know a shortcut. here." Watching him hold out a hand, you gave him a suspicious look before reaching up to grasp it. "heh, don't let go kiddo."

Like yesterday, there was a moment where you felt absolutely nothing, and then light and a deep chill washed over you as you appeared in front of a warm looking building with a bright neon sign flashing the word Grillby's.

"welp, here we are," Sans spoke from your side, and you immediately rounded on him, grasping his shoulders as you glared into his sockets.

 _"What was that?!"_ You hissed in question, watching beads of sweat collect on his skull.

"uh... i'm not sure what you're talkin' about..." He tittered nervously, and your eye went wide as it finally hit you.

"Oh my God..." You whispered in shock, throwing your hands up in glee, "You can _teleport!_ That is so _freakin' cool!!"_ He chuckled once, scratching his skull as he glanced away in what seemed to be embarrassment.

"yeah, it's uh, pretty _handy,_ " He replied as he reached out to open the door to the restaurant, and hold it open, "but enough about me. ladies first."

"Oh, such a gentleman~." You crooned as you strolled through the door, both you and Chara snickering as he followed behind you with a harrumph.

"shut up..." You grinned as you looked around the place curiously, listening to everyone greet Sans cheerfully; Guess he was a regular around here. You spotted all of the K-9 unit (pun intended) in this place, and smiled brightly as they barked out greetings towards you. Greater Dog whined as you passed, making you stop to gently scratch behind his ears before Sans pulled you forward again, leading you towards a couple of stools and sitting down.

You were about to sit down too, before you realized that you were sitting next to a comedian, and shot up, your eye brightening as you snatched up the whoopee cushion that you were about to sit on. "Aha!! Nice try prankster!" You shouted triumphantly, throwing the object into his lap as he cursed silently.

"damn, didn't think you'd catch that."

"You obviously don't know who you're talking to." You sniffed in a superior way as you sat down, just barely catching a mumble from him. "What was that?"

"eh? oh, nothing..."

"Uh-huh..." You gave a disbelieving hum as you settled your elbows onto the counter, continuing your perusal of the joint. Your head tilted to the side as your eye landed on a stage next to a jukebox; So did monsters perform here too?

"so, hey kid... what do you want to eat?"

"A bagel." The answer slipped out before you could stop it, and your eye widened and you slapped your hands over your mouth once you realized what you said. You trembled from holding back the giggles while Chara began howling with laughter, the explosive amusement only getting harder to control when Sans turned in his seat to give you an indescribable look.

"Oh~! Oh, I'm sorry-pfft.... Uh... T-Two bagels?" He deadpanned, and you had to pull up your turtleneck over your face as you began to to crack up silently, aware that Chara had hit the floor and was rolling around laughing.

"y'know buddy, i like jokes... but i hate it when i don't _get_ the joke. _i'm_ the comedian here, 'member?"

"O-oh, _sweet Jesus..._ " Feeling composed enough to show your face again, you pulled the neck of your sweater down and waved a hand at your face as you tried to catch your breath. "I-I'm so sorry Sans... I couldn't help myself...." You raised your hand up to wipe away tears of mirth from your eye, hoping you could lower his ire. "W-What's actually on the menu here...?" Grumbling, he passed you a menu, and your lingering giggles soon faded away as you gazed upon the colored plastic. Strangely enough, there was only two food options, but your face brightened as you realized they were both your favorites. "Mm... The fries sound really good right now."

"yeah, actually that does sound pretty good. hey grillbz!" Your eye widened in astonishment as a literal man made of fire decked out in a white sleeveless shirt, collar, bowtie, and black slacks complete with glasses perched on his flaming face came around the corner of the bar, stopping in front of the both of you and holding up an ordering book and pencil. "two orders of fries!"

***Cool...**

'More like _smokin'_ , Chara dear.' You adverted your gaze to the counter as he turned to look at you, ashamed that you were staring for so long.

"ah, don't be shy kid. he was askin' for your name." Giving a confused glance over towards Sans, since you sure as hell didn't hear anything, you looked up timidly to see Grillby giving you what you assumed to be a curious stare.

"Ah... Hi there.. My name is Olivia." You politely held out your hand for a handshake, hoping he wouldn't decide to burn you. You were pleasantly surprised by the warm, comforting flames when he grasped your hand in return, but instead of shaking it, he lifted your hand to his face and pressed what you guessed were fiery lips against the back of your hand. You flushed slightly before using your other hand to imitate a gun and point it at him.

"Old school, I like it." His shoulders began to shake, so you once again assumed he was chuckling, and gave you a small bow as he let go of your hand before nodding to Sans and walking away to head towards the door in the back.

Your head cocked to the side as you blinked, your hand still partially in the air. "Damn."

Sans scoffed quietly. "oh geez... i know grillbz is _hot,_ kid, but come on."

"I dunno dude, it's the flames. There's just something about them..."

"your sarcasm is duly noted." You chuckled as Chara finally sat down on the stool next to you, shooting a brooding stare towards the door Grillby disappeared through. What was their problem...?

"So hey, was he actually speaking to me?" When Sans nodded, you gave a soft frown in response. "Why couldn't I hear him?" He pointed towards your ears.

"your ears aren't completely used to magic yet. grillbz speaks on a frequency that only magical beings or those used to magic can hear. it would be sorta impossible for a human to be able to hear grillby, since the only magical thing about a human is their SOUL, but since you're a human surrounded by large quantities of magic..." He shrugged a bit, leaning against the counter. "you could divert part of the magic in your SOUL towards your ears to help, but since you wouldn't know what yer doin', i wouldn't advise it." Mulling on that for a bit, Chara seemed to perk up before gently poking you.

 ***I can help you with that! Since I'm really only attached to you by your mind and your SOUL, I'm pretty much made of magic now! It's kinda like how I was able to translate the Froggit speech to you. I'll make a bit of your SOUL energy move towards your ears until the comedian is done talking with you, how's that?** Performing an absolute perfect poker face, you were mentally jumping up and down in glee.

'Chara, you are so damn awesome.' You thought, hearing them giggle bashfully before putting their hands over your ears.

 ***Now just stay calm, and keep him distracted, okay?** Mentally agreeing, you shot Sans an inquisitive look.

"So Sans... I was told by a very reliable source that all monsters dance in their own unique way... What's your main dance?" He seemed to freeze before turning his head away with an awkward cough.

"uhhh, i don't dance bud... not all monsters dance." You pinned him with a look that clearly said you sensed his bullshit before shrugging.

"Even though lying isn't a really good way to start a friendship, I shall not pry because I'm guessing it's something personal." You rested your chin onto your clasped hands, ignoring the feeling of him watching you as you looked over the different alcohol bottles on the shelves behind the bar.

"...thanks." You merely shrugged in response, and began humming softly to yourself, hearing slight weird distortions in your hearing. Man, if it wasn't for the fact you trusted Chara...

You sat up straight once Grillby returned, carrying two plates of fries in his hands and placing them in front of you. Your eye lit up happily, and you turned a bright grin towards the fiery man.

"Thanks so much for the food~! <3" You cheerfully thanked, watching as the flames around his cheeks tinted pink. You heard some sharp crackling sounds coming from him, but they weren't forming words just yet.

***Ah, progress! We're getting there! This is working faster than I thought it would!**

"yeah, thanks grill- wait, what's that?" You blinked as a colorful drink was set before you in a glass. The type of drink was familiar, what was it called...?

"Oh! It's a Barbados Sunrise." You spoke, looking at the separated colors and gaining the attention of Grillby and Sans. "You see, my friend on- uh, who lives far away, owns a bar. She wanted me to come work for her, so she would teach me the different types of drinks there were so I would be over-qualified. It never happened, but she made me study up anyway." Sans blinked, not sure what to say, but Grillby made a noise that sounded distinctly impressed. "But uh... Why did you give me it...?" Grillby pointed somewhere behind you and you both turned back to see a bunny monster waving at you with a slightly drunk smile.

 ***He said that flirty bunny monster was the one who sent the drink to you. He's paying for it.** Chara grumbled softly and you rose a brow in shock.

"Oh. Well, that was nice of them." Taking the drink into your hand, you raised it towards the generous monster gratefully, gaining a wider smile as you gazed down at your drink.

Hm. Magical alcohol.... Wonder what that felt like going down. You weren't old enough for alcohol on the surface, but you were able to snag some sips every now and then. Plus, laws up there didn't apply down here.

"Welp, bottoms up." Taking a tentative gulp, you felt a tingling rush of magic go straight into your soul, and when Chara gave a soft yelp, they ripped their hands away from your ears as a sudden pressure settled against them before they popped. You blinked as you shook your head to make the residual feeling go away.

"Whoo! For my first time, I probably shouldn't have too much of that." You settled the glass back onto the counter, making Grillby and Sans chuckle at your bewildered expression.

"Yes, magical alcoholic beverages can be quite overwhelming the first time. It inebriates the mind and the SOUL, so it's smart to be careful." Your jaw dropped in shock at the sound of Grillby's voice; It crackled like fire, yet was deep and smoky and hot damn, was it sexy.

And inebriates the soul huh? Well, can't have too much of that. Didn't want a drunk Chara on your hands.

***Oh, well that worked. The backlash of magic through the stream I was guiding to your ears made them instantly adapt. It practically shocked me!**

So badass. "Cool, I can hear your voice now...." You whispered, making Sans perform a double take as Grillby seemed to smile.

"Then we'll have no need for a mediator as we converse, now will we?" You shook your head enthusiastically, making both Sans and Chara sigh softly as he reached up to gently pat your head. "Well, enjoy your food, you two." Grasping a fry as he walked to see to the other guests, you popped it into your mouth, nearly moaning in bliss as you chewed on the still hot food.

"He must make this with his own fire because it's amazing."

"yeah, yeah..." Sans grumbled before he held out a bottle of ketchup towards you. "want any?" Shaking your head in the negative, he shrugged. "more for me." And then he downed the entire. Fucking. Bottle. Of ketchup.

You could feel the contents of your stomach rolling around in a queasy manner as Chara gave a loud sound of disgust. "Dude, that's nasty..."

"don't judge me, kid." He quickly replied, pulling out a brush. You felt your eye twitch as he tossed his hood back and began brushing his skull.

"You brushing your thoughts there?"

"i'm detecting an incredibly high amount of sass in your tone right now kid."

"I think I'm allowed that, seeing as you senselessly pointed out the most conspicuous feature of my body." You cheerfully reminded, feeling a strange pleasure at seeing his face turn a neon blue.

"oh-er... y-yeah, 'm sorry 'bout that... was pretty rude.."

"Damn right it was. However, you are forgiven."

A comfortable silence then descended upon you two as you ate, with you quickly finishing off your meal and feeling your stomach make a soft gurgle of content.

"Man... Thanks for suggesting this place. That was delicious."

"no prob. this is my favorite place to hang out really."

"I can see why." You nodded in understanding as you pushed the plate out of the way, leaning against the counter again.

"....so. there was an actual reason i brought you here. wanted to talk to ya about somethin'..." Glancing over to him, you cocked your head to the side as you realized he had an air of seriousness about him. "you'll be battling my brother soon..."

"I will?" You questioned in confusion.

"mm. he's waiting' for ya at the end of snowdin. says yer worthy enough for a formal dance battle and all..." You cracked a small smile at that; It sure sounded like him. "and... papy, he... doesn't have that many friends. at all. it sucks cause, you know, papyrus is a really nice guy and all... he doesn't like causin' trouble and whenever he does, it's completely by accident. he really doesn't mean any harm at all.."

"Are you going where I think you're going with this?" You interrupted, raising a brow in question. "Sans, I could never, ever hurt your brother. He's way too precious for me to do so." You frowned at him then, a bit irritated. "I'm actually a bit offended that you would even think such a thing..." He seemed to simultaneously sigh with relief and grimace slightly, before those pinpricks of light moved to gaze upon your face.

"i don't mean any harm, it's just... he's the most precious thing i have left... and while you seem nice, i've only known you for a day. i'm just tryin' ta protect my own, y'know?" Your face smoothing out in understanding, you nodded before moving to dig through your pocket.

"That's fair. But don't worry. Anyone who can bring themselves to hurt Papyrus deserves to burn in Hell." Both Chara and Sans winced at your words, though you didn't notice as you pulled out exact change for both your meals and then handed it to a passing Grillby, taking only a few more sips of your drink before hopping off your seat. "Well! If he's waiting for me, then it'd be rude of me to keep him waiting any longer. I'm gonna head out. Thanks for the food Grillby!" You thanked enthusiastically before turning to go.

"hey, wait!" Blinking as Sans snagged your wrist, you made a sound of confusion as he pulled you close. "how were you able to understand grillby so fast?" A devious idea popped into your head and you leaned close so your lips were where his ear would be if he had any, then lowered your voice to make it as sultry as possible.

"I learn fast." You could hear his bones rattle softly as he shivered, holding out your hand subtly so Chara could high-five you before you pulled away, and skipped cheerily towards the entrance with a cackle. "See you around bone boy~!"

Sans stared at the door long after you had left, before placing his head on the counter with a long-suffering groan.

"i'm doomed..."

Grillby could only give him a sympathetic pat on the back as he held back a deep chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was that dream all about? I know. You all are just going to have to guess~!
> 
> And yes, Sans dearie. Yes you are. There is no escape. >:D
> 
> Over five bookmarks~! FINALLY!!


	11. Get Bonetrousle'd!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May Olivia's first formal dance battle commence!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, let's get the show on the road!
> 
> Hooray for Latin Dancing!

Strolling through the snowy town, you gave a soft hum as you finally managed to get a good look at this place.

It was nice, homey. Though, there wasn't much in it, besides a few homes, the inn, Grillby's and the shop which was run by the sister of the bunny lady who owns the inn. With it being such a small town, everybody seemed to know each other. It only made yourself stand out more because you were a totally new sight. You felt extremely lucky monsters around here didn't know what a human looked like at all.

You watched small groups of monsters laughing and enjoying themselves as they danced together. And while you would have liked to join them, you knew that was definitely a bad idea. Even if they had no idea what a human looked like, you were pretty damn sure they knew the difference between a monster's soul and a human one.

You were good at reading people. A damn near expert in your opinion. And all the results you were getting here? These people were hiding their pains and worries behind smiles and laughter. They were all really kind of course, but that didn't mean they didn't have a dark side, a breaking point. You knew that fact well. Everyone had a mask they kept up to others.

***Even Papyrus, Olivia...? He seems too... what's the words I'm looking for...? Arrogant and... oblivious to the evil in this world.**

'He is a bit harder to read, that's true...' You agreed, as you walked towards the ends of the village, 'But... I bet you that sometimes that is a front as well. Maybe sometimes, he believes he has to stay cheerful for his brother... So he doesn't worry. Everyone has a mask of some kind, Chara... Everyone.'

Silence was your answer as you walked forward in the direction Sans told you Papyrus was waiting, and the scenery soon began to change. You blinked as some type of thick haze and angry frigid wind began to surround you, making you take cautious steps as an eerie feeling hung in the air.

 ***You know, knowing Papyrus... He might have unknowingly picked this place for its dramatic effect.** You couldn't help but giggle as you thought about it. That DID sound like Papyrus...

Unable to see two feet in front of yourself with the snow falling thickly around you, when you had finally caught sight of a tall shadowy figure in front of you, you stopped in your tracks. Like, you couldn't even see that far a minute ago!

"HUMAN." Even being unfamiliar with the owner of the loud, cheerful voice, you detected a hint of strain and seriousness in his tone. It made you frown, though he could never see it with you holding your arm up against your face to protect it from the stinging wind. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER." Ah yes, the adorable skeleton adored spaghetti. If given the chance, you would introduce him to the wonder of everything Italian. "THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK THAT YOU ARE COOL." Papyrus no. Where did the cinnamon roll in you go? "THESE FEELINGS... THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!" Ah, there it is. Never mind. "I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT... I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN..."

Ooh, hit right where it hurts, dear... But now we were getting somewhere.

"You're right Papyrus, you probably don't..." You couldn't help but interject as you felt the wind begin to calm around you. "I've... Been alone most of my life. I only had one friend on the surface; Not many people were very nice to me..." You knew he was listening as you heard a soft, disappointed 'nyeh' in response, beginning to lower your arm. Hopefully, you could disable this tense situation before it escalated into a fight. "I thought I would be alone forever... But then I fell down here. I met you and your brother." If you weren't looking for it, you probably wouldn't have spotted how his shadow seemed to perk up at your words. "Even if it was impossible... I wanted to give myself a chance for happiness again." Despite how true it was, you were feeling that perhaps you were laying it on a bit too thick. So, with a soft, shaky breath you extended your arm out towards him, reaching out your hand.

"As little as I am compared to you... Would you, Papyrus, be my friend?"

For some reason, you felt the odd, familiar sensation of being watched, but shook it off to hear Papyrus' answer.

"WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!" Relief coursed through your veins at his words, and even Chara gave a pleased sound. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..." His words slowed in their enthusiasm, making you bite your lip as Chara grabbed your hand.

Oh no. He was hesitating.

"....NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG!" Damn it, please don't do this Papyrus... "I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!!! YOU ARE A HUMAN!" You winced slightly at that; Even if you knew he meant no real harm by it, it still hurt pretty bad. "I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!!"

The weird blizzard had completely disappeared by this point, and you tried to school your hurt expression back into an uncaring one. Even though Sans told you this would happen, you didn't want to fight... You looked away as he hesitated slightly before his conviction came back full force.

"I'LL BE ABLE TO FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT IS PAPYRUS!!! THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

 _Rejection hurts more than you remember, doesn't it?_ Growling to yourself as the venomous voice of doubt came to the forefront once again, you watched as Papyrus struck a valiant looking pose, before looking at you.

"PREPARE YOURSELF HUMAN!! THIS WILL BE A FORMAL DANCE-OFF! WITH MY LATIN STYLE, THERE'S NO WAY YOU'LL DEFEAT ME!!" Your eye widened marginally before a lazy smirk settled on your face.

He probably didn't know your style, as this would be the first time facing him in dance, but with Ballet on your side, that would make this so much easier. Ballet was the mother of all dances. And combine that with the fact that Reggaeton -basically a fusion of Latin rhythms and hip hop- exists?

"Alright, Papyrus. I'm letting you know now! I will not fight you!" You shouted back, squaring your shoulders confidently and getting into position. "But even so! I'm not backing down!"

Confusion flitted by briefly over his face before it was gone, and reached out a hand towards you in a claw-like position before pulling his arm back. The detached, void-like feeling in your chest was then present as your cartoony soul began to float in between you both, and your brow furrowed as you gazed at your soul with a frown. You could hear Chara's teeth grind quietly behind you.

Was it you, or did the spider-web of cracks in your soul... Widen slightly?

"HUMAN...?" Looking up at Papyrus in question, a brow rose as he seemed to look at your soul... sadly. "WHY IS YOUR SOUL THIS WAY WHEN YOUR HP IS ABOVE YOUR MAXIMUM AMOUNT? IT MAKES NO SENSE!" You looked away, slightly ashamed, definitely not wanting to explain to Papyrus why your soul looked like it was just a few well-placed taps away from shattering. You didn't like how concerned he looked despite seeming hell bent on capturing you.

"Er... That's a story for another day. Let's just get this show on the road. I've never been in a formal dance battle, so you'll have to tell me the rules." Even though he looked like he wanted to argue the point, he sighed as he placed his hands on his hips.

"IT'S NOT VERY DIFFERENT FROM FROM A NORMAL DANCE BATTLE, HUMAN. IT WILL JUST BE MORE INTENSE BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM MUCH STRONGER THAN THE COMMON MONSTER!" So expect something more between Napstablook's and Toriel's level... Note taken. Watching him hold out a hand, your ear ticked as you heard the quirky Latin-esque music begin to play. Damn, why did the background music for all the stronger monsters sound so good?!

"COME HUMAN! LATIN STYLE IS ONE MORE SUITED FOR A PAIR AFTER ALL!"

'And so it begins...'

***Papyrus blocks the way!**

Grasping his hand tightly, again surprised by how warm it was, you stepped forward confidently and placed your firm expression on your face as the music from him began to swell. You quickly pressed the ACT button and Check as you did.

***Papyrus 8 ATK 2 DEF**

***He likes to say: 'Nyeh heh heh!'**

"NYEH HEH HEH!" You almost wanted to snicker at that, but instead kept your serious face on, so as to not offend him.

"Well then Papyrus, let's do this."

.....

_And Ho-lee shit._

Papyrus seemed to want to ease you into this, his movements were easy and gentle; As you side-stepped past slow moving bones tearing at the ground, you realized he obviously didn't want to hurt you. But that still didn't disguise the fact that he was so _freakin' fluid when he moved!_ Even some professional dancers weren't this fluid! How was a creature that was all bone _this flexible?!_

"DON'T ACT SO SURPRISED HUMAN! I AM ONE OF ONLY TWO DANCERS IN THE UNDERGROUND WHO SPECIALIZE IN LATIN! OF COURSE, I WOULD BE AN EXPERT AT IT!" Right. Monsters were pretty much experts at their style of dance when they found which fit them best. Toriel had told you before you left how any human that fell sorta conformed to the magic they were constantly surrounded by to make it easier on their bodies; If they weren't dancers, they would become proficient at the style that best matched their personality. If they were dancers already, they became experts in their prospective field.

"Well, looks like I'm gonna have to step up my game, huh?" Feeling determination flare up inside you, you twirled away from him as his turn ended, but stopped and turned towards him with a frown when he made a sound of confusion, the music coming from him lowering slightly in volume.

"HUMAN, WHY IS YOUR SOUL SILENT?" Blinking once, you tilted your head to the side.

"Uh... Isn't it supposed to be?"

"NOT AT ALL! I SUPPOSE THAT IS ANOTHER DIFFERENCE IN A FORMAL BATTLE... BOTH OPPONENTS SOULS MUST PLAY ITS OWN KIND OF MUSIC! AND WE MUST CONFORM TO THE OTHER'S STYLE DURING EACH OTHER'S TURNS!" Huh. Interesting.

"Well, I've never done that before, so I kinda don't... know how?" You gently poked your soul in an encouraging way, making Papyrus wince and blush a light orange, though you didn't notice at all. "Come on, you weird little thing, we've made it this far." Soon, some garbled noises were produced from the cartoony heart, making you both frown.

"THAT DOESN'T SOUND MUCH LIKE MUSIC..."

"That's 'cause it's definitely not. This isn't instinctual to me though, so I don't know what- wait, hold the phone..." Listening closely, you were able to distinguish some familiar chords of different songs in the sped up mush that couldn't really be classified as notes, let alone music. "I think... I think it's trying to choose a song..." You murmured, grasping Papyrus' attention. "Since there's many things my particular styles could dance to, there's so much to choose from..."

It seemed the imaginary song wheel your soul was spinning was starting to slow down, and when it finally stopped, your jaw dropped before an absolutely gigantic grin split across your face.

'There's just too much I could do with this!!'

"ER... HUMAN, WHY ARE YOU SMILING LIKE THAT?" A rather dark chuckle came from you as Chara tittered nervously from behind your form.

"Oh Papyrus, you're in for a real treat..." The grin only lessened slightly as you got into position, the soft vocalization from the song swelled before exploding, making you explode into action as well.

_Dites-moi d'où il vient_

_Enfin je saurais où je vais_

_Maman dit que lorsqu'on cherche bien_

_On finit toujours par trouver_

"HUMAN, WHAT IS THIS?! I CANNOT UNDERSTAND A THING!"

"That's cause it's French, Papy!" With exhilaration pulsing deep through your veins, your usual inhibitions were thrown to the wind as the fast paced song pulsed from your soul. "Shouldn't you be dancing with me though?!" With those words, he jumped right in as well, shine dancing right with you. You were trying to stick as close to Latin style as possible, so transitions from your music to his wouldn't be too difficult to handle until you adjusted.

You didn't give a damn if the song was french or not. With certain songs, you could use any dance if you were determined enough.

And that was just what you were going to do.

_Ah sacré papa_

_Dis-moi où es-tu caché?_

_Ca doit faire au moins mille fois que j'al compté mes doigts_

Trying not to curse as your turn ended, you quickly pressed ACT to look over your choices and your eye widened.

'Insult or Flirt? _Fucking really?!_ ' Why? Why why why why?!?!

***You have to hurry Olivia! It will be an automatic win for him if you remain idle for too long!**

'I'm gonna regret this...' You groaned at the injustice of the cruel world before slamming your hand on Flirt.

"You're pretty damn sexy, being able to move like that~." The purr you had no idea your voice could even do slid from your tongue in a sultry tone, complete with a wink. And it totally just slipped out, you hadn't even thought about what to say!

The reaction would have been comical if you weren't so conflicted at the time.

"WHAT!? FL-FLIRTING!?" Papyrus looked just as embarrassed as you felt. "SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS!" Oh shit. "W-WELL! I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!!!"

"Well, I-I can make spaghetti at least...?" You offered weakly, briefly wondering if rejection or acceptance would be more embarrassing.

"OH NO!! YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!!!" In so much pain right now... "I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU...?" _OH STARS, NO. WAIT YOU PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL!!_ "LET'S DATE L-LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!!" You were sure you had the best poker face in the world as Papyrus grabbed your hand and yanked you to him, but on the inside?

_'Sans is gonna **kill** me...'_

Papyrus was still taking things slow, making it easy to side step out of the way of bones zipping under your feet, but you began to think as you danced.

Latin matched Papyrus perfectly. Latin dancing was very showy and boisterous, but it showed a lot of support if one was dancing with a partner. It was spontaneous; Many people needed high levels of energy in order to keep going. There was a lot of gesturing with the arms, and legs and feet never stop moving ~~~~. It also needed an element of suaveness and the sensual in order to be super effective.

Well, fuck the sensual stuff, because using that to throw Papyrus off in his dancing just felt... really weird. Plus, you didn't have one of those short dresses on. While more suited for Latin, you weren't Wonder Woman, it was too damn cold outside. Plus, you didn't believe you were very attractive to begin with anyway.

Wracking your brain on what to do, you pressed Spare instead.

"SO YOU WON'T FIGHT..."

"Like I said!"

"THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!'" Oh, you totally remembered this from Sans explanation before. Hopefully, this wouldn't be too difficult..

Dancing in between the gaps of blue bones was stressing, but you were able to do it. Feeling light blue bones phase through you when you were still felt super weird; They were extremely cold, and a shiver would run over your skin every time. Why were blue attacks so cold?! Made you wonder if orange attacks felt warm...

When the light blue bones seemed to stop coming, you briefly thought how much easier that was than you'd thought...

But that thought was sent straight into the garbage as you heard a loud 'ping!'. Gravity soon felt like it became ten times stronger and you slammed face first into the ground, feeling as though it was justice when a speeding bone smacked you right in the head, lowering your HP from thirty to twenty-seven.

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!" Eye widening in astonishment, you struggled immensely to get on your feet, and lo and behold, your soul was completely blue. As was your body.

***You're blue now.**

Sans, you jerk!!

Deciding to throw Papyrus off as much as possible while still keeping your dignity, you couldn't hide the smirk on your face as you shot finger guns at him. "You're right. I am feeling pretty... _down!_ "

Your laughter was unrestrained when Papyrus let out an irritated shriek.

"WHY?! WITH HORRIBLE PUNS LIKE THAT, YOU SHOULD DATE MY BROTHER INSTEAD!!" You froze for a split second, wide-eyed and feeling your face burn at the idea, which cost you a good four health points in return as a bone rammed painfully into your shoulder. Ooh, Karma was a bitch...

Figuring out what you needed to do was easy, but it was the execution that was pretty hard.

You needed to outlast Papyrus in order to win.

Ever try outlasting anyone who acts like they had six cups of espresso that morning in anything physical? Wouldn't ever recommend it.

It was even harder for you because you were more lethargic in nature. But you had a plan.

Papaoutai-the name of the song your soul had chosen-could easily be used for Hip Hop dancing, as well as Ballet, and Latin. And you were an expert at being able to switch back and forth. So the plan?

Wear Papyrus out by randomly changing dance styles constantly during your turn.

And it was working. Oh, it was SO working. Dancing with increased gravity upon your body and soul was extremely difficult, but it looked like Papyrus was getting just as tired as you. Using so much magic while trying to keep up with rapidly changing styles was a taxing task after all.

But damn, was he stubborn.

"GIVE UP HUMAN! OR FACE MY... SPECIAL ATTACK!!"

"You'll never take me alive!"

"VERY WELL... BEHOLD...! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" Bracing yourself with a grimace, you flinched as he stepped aside to reveal...

......A white dog chewing on a bone?

"WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" You bit your lip to keep the laugh threatening to escape inside as the skeleton attempted to pounce the dog, and Chara chuckled as the dog merely ran off with the gigantic bone in its mouth, looking like the happiest creature in the world. "HEY! YOU STUPID DOG!! GET BACK HERE!"

Trying to hold back the smile as Papyrus realized it was fruitless to give chase, he grumbled as he marched back, irritated. "I GUESS I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK... HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK, HUMAN."

Dancing, spinning and twirling, a look of intense concentration was set on your face as you weaved in and out of bones, wincing as the icy wind breezed through your sweater... Though you admit you giggled as bones spelling out 'Cool Dude' slid by, along with a bone with sunglasses rolling by on a bone-made skateboard.

And then you caught sight of what must have been the biggest bone in existence bearing down on you.

'T... T-There's no way to dodge that...!' You shook, frightened as the absolutely _gigantic_ bone, nearly scraping the ceiling of the cavern, moved towards you. 'Is this how I die?!'

A shocked squeal escaped your throat as your body was suddenly launched upwards, and as you twisted around to see was going on, you could see a light sheen of blue outlining your frame. Feeling completely overwhelmed, something in the distance caught your eye as you soared through the air, and your eye narrowed as you tried to discern what it was.

A glowing hand... glowing the same color as the magic you were covered by right now and was that... A glowing blue eye...?

Whatever or whoever it was, it helped you clear that immense bone, and you were entirely grateful. Heading back down towards an absolutely awed Papyrus, you grinned as you somersaulted in the air before speeding down to earth and performing a superhero landing, crouched and on one knee.

Ooh, that was going to hurt your knees in the morning... But it was so worth it.

"WELL... 'HUFF', I SEE THAT YOU ARE... 'HUFF' QUITE EXHAUSTED HUMAN!!" Looking up as deep pants left you, you watched Papyrus struggling to keep himself on his feet as he panted for air. "THEREFORE I... THE GREAT 'WHEEZE' PAPYRUS... ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY...! I SHALL SPARE YOU HUMAN!! NOW IS YOUR CHANCE... TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!" Face lighting up despite your adrenaline fading fast, you stumbled forward and pressed Mercy gladly, sighing in relief with Chara as your soul then returned to its rightful place. You fell to your knees as Papyrus did, panting for breath and shivering as the sweat collecting on your body began to cool fast. You frowned as Papyrus placed his skull in his hands, his shoulders shaking.

"NYOO HOO HOO... I CANNOT STOP EVEN YOU, A HUMAN WHO REFUSES TO FIGHT... UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME." You could feel your heart breaking at the incredibly depressed expression on his face. "I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD... AND... MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT.." You began to crawl forward to him, uncaring of the freezing temperature of the snow seeping to your very bones. Tears welled in your eye as you saw orange tear tracks running down his cheekbones, before you threw your arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Silly silly Papyrus..." You crooned in a motherly tone, feeling him stiffen in surprise at the unexpected contact. "I understand now... You're lonely, just like I am..." He stayed silent as you gently rubbed the back of his skull in a comforting gesture. "Papyrus... If you gain friends just because you gain a position in the royal guard, they aren't real friends... Real friends, and I do mean true friends, are there for you no matter what. They celebrate with you at your best, and cry with you at your worst. They like being around you... Because you're you. Because it's your personality that makes them smile." Pulling back slowly, you gave him a tender look as he stared down at you with orange watery eye sockets. "You should pursue your dreams because _you_ want to. Not because you think people will like you more because of it. If people don't want to be your friend, that's their loss, know why?" As he shook his skull, you gently patted his shoulder.

"Because you're The Great Papyrus. You're smart, you work hard, and you're kind to everyone. That's something that's very rare nowadays Papy. And because of that, I could care less what anyone else says." You stood up, looking down at his awed expression and held out your hand to him with a kind smile. " _I_ want to be your friend. And if you'll accept... I'll say it proudly."

***Man, if there was a reward for cheesiest heartfelt pep-talk of the century...**

'Shut up Chara...' The mental embarrassment was well worth seeing him grab your hand and heft himself up, sniffling softly as he spoke -gasp!- quietly.

"T-Thank you... Human..." You tsked to yourself, looking at the orange tear tracks with disapproval. Bunching up the cloth of your sleeve in your hand, you reached up to wipe off said marks.

"Now now, this won't do... There's no need to cry. You wouldn't want your brother to see you like this, right?" That seemed to snap him out of it, and he cleared his throat, nodding.

"YOU ARE QUITE RIGHT HUMAN. IT WOULD BE MOST RUDE OF ME TO LET HIM WORRY!"

"Atta boy."

***Seriously! You totally just did Naruto's patented move: Talk-no-Jutsu!**

'Damn it Chara, stop...!' You could feel yourself begin to flush at Chara's teasing, but then a big gusty wind blew right through you, making your eye widen as you wrapped your arms around your shivering body.

"HUMAN? WHAT'S WRONG?"

"A-A-Ah... It's g-getting d-dark and really c-c-cold..." You began to explain, your teeth chattering as violent trembles wracked your frame. "I-I'm all s-s-sweaty and t-t-tired from our d-dancing... I-I-If I stay o-out here m-m-much longer, I c-could get really s-sick..."

"OH! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?!" All of a sudden you were swooped off your feet, a small yelp slipping from your lips as you realized you were being held in Papyrus' arms bridal style.

"W-W-Woah, wait, w-what are you d-doing...?!"

"WHY, I'M BRINGING YOU TO MY HOUSE OF COURSE! SANS MENTIONED YOU WERE STAYING AT THE INN! I KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS, SO INSTEAD, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO STAY AT OUR HOUSE FOR AS LONG AS YOU LIKE!" Your jaw slackened as Chara made a brief noise of surprise.

"B-b-but I'd hate t-to be a b-burden..."

"DON'T BE SILLY HUMAN!! UNDYNE HAS STAYED AT OUR HOUSE MANY TIMES, YOU WILL BE NO DIFFERENT!" Seeing he wasn't going to let this go, you sighed, giving one last protest.

"M-My b-b-bags...?"

"I SHALL RETRIEVE THEM FROM THE INN FOR YOU!" You heard the jingle of keys and looking up, you saw the keys to your room in his boney hand and watched as a cheeky smile was pointed down at you.

Sneaky skeleton.

"A-Alright Papy... T-Thank you..." You whispered softly in defeat, curling closer to his warm form, missing his soft look.

"...Anything for a friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this one, while I was excited to write it, I got kinda... Stuck for a bit. Again, fights aren't really my thing, so I apologize if this sucks.
> 
> When I played the game, the only reason I passed Papyrus is because he gets tired of catching you when your run out of health, but you keep escaping again and again.
> 
> I, of course, must make a disclaimer. The lyrics are from Papaoutai by Stromae but performed by Pentatonix ft. Lindsey Stirling. You gotta look up the official video. It's weird, but awesome.
> 
> Oh, and shine dancing is when a pair are not connected, but make similar movements side by side when dancing.
> 
> The next two chapters will be something a bit... different. So bare with me, m'kay?


	12. Change in Perspective pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see the point-of-views of people Olivia has met so far!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's look into the thoughts of the others shall we?
> 
> Hope this isn't too boring for you all!

**Toriel**

When the queen of the underground lost her children, it felt as though part of her soul shattered along with their combined ones.

When her husband, the king, redeclared war against the humans in a fit of rage, knowing they were the ones that had attacked their children, she grew disgusted at his actions and fled with the lifeless body of the human child they took in as their own, and a few seeds harvested from the golden flower that had bloomed right before she had left.

Chara, the human child they had adopted, had told them before they grew ill how much they loved these flowers.

She had fled to what used to be their old home in the RUINS, and settled in after burying her beloved child in the place they had first fallen, planting the seeds of their favorite flower above their grave.

Many years passed... While growing in age, she knew she would not die. With her biological child gone, she could not die of old age. Boss Monsters such as she gave their power to their children as they grew up, and with no child to give that to, she would basically live forever.

Facing forever alone... Was a very depressing thought.

Although, that wasn't completely true. She traded hilarious knock knock jokes through the closed door of the ruins with a rather _p_ _unny_  gentleman. But in any case...

She still loved her husband, despite his cruel deeds. She knew the guilt that was upon his shoulders, taking the souls away from mere children in order to destroy the barrier. But he still did it. And she could not just stand aside with that on her conscious, knowing her children died from the humans' attacks because they had refused to fight back.

It didn't make the constant pain of ignoring her soul calling out for its other half any less, though.

As the years continued to pass, and she watched children march past the RUIN doors to what she knew were their deaths, a sudden and rather strange feeling began to reside with her at all times.

A sort of feeling of...  _deja-vu._

It began happening after an eighth person had fallen... Someone she couldn't remember, but the thought was always on the tip of her tongue, so to speak.

She remembered feeling as though she was living the same few days over and over again. She knew she wasn't, but at the same time... she was.

A feeling of anticipation would reside in her stomach on a certain day every time when she would go to the very beginning of the RUINS, somehow knowing she would find someone. And the feelings swirling in her soul would vary; fear and disgust or love and protectiveness.

But then, that one day, she made her regular trek to the start of the RUINS to find a surprise. A complete shock.

Absolutely nothing.

She remembered how it had completely confused her. But how was she so certain that someone had fallen anyway? With a perplexed shake of her head, she tended the many golden flowers that had sprouted over her child's grave before heading back home.

A month passed from that confusing day, and as she was strolling forward with the intent of taking care of the tiny garden, she heard the shouts of a distorted voice and hurried forward as fast as possible.

A strangely familiar looking battle was taking place, the murderous flower that she had the displeasure of knowing about to kill a human. After scaring it away with a well-placed fireball, she had approached said human, wondering if this was the child that was always on her mind, who's appearance always escaped her.

It wasn't.

It was a haggard looking young woman, clutching a couple of bags close to her and looking as though she was silently begging for life to finish her off. The dull look in her eye when she had knelt to help her was heartbreaking; It had caused a gush of determination within Toriel's soul to erase that look and replace it with something happier.

The next several months the young woman had spent living with her had been the happiest moments Toriel had, ever since the death of her children. The days lost that constant deja-vu feeling. It was the longest any of the humans had spent with her. The child was quiet, reserved, but when it came to food and sweets, her random outbursts of happiness could not be contained. She thought very little of herself, even though she was a marvelous dancer and artist. She was a writer as well, but her journals were much more personal to her than the drawings she would share every now and then. She had an air of constant inquisitiveness and curiosity; Toriel loved answering every question she had about monsters and magic, and how they were different. Though she was slightly disturbed when the first day the girl was present, she stuck her hand into the fireplace without so much of a second's hesitation. She loved knowing she was the reason as to why her dull, closed default expression slowly eased over the months into a slightly kinder and more expressive one.

It only made it that much harder to muster up the nerve to attack the day she had followed her into the basement.

Toriel was only telling her part of the truth when she was trying to prevent her from leaving. She was feeling selfish. After having such pleasant company for so long... She didn't want to be alone again. She was too attached. She didn't want to bare the thought of the girl she had come to see as a daughter leaving. Couldn't bare the thought of her  _dying._

But the woman was determined. Stronger than she looked. Refused to fight despite being ravaged by flames. And with the assurance that she would call, visit, and even come back to stay if things got too hostile, she let her leave. Toriel sighed sadly, sitting in her chair by the fireplace as the house seemed even more empty with her gone. But...

_Olivia._

Even now, the name brought a fond smile to her muzzle.

* * *

**Chara**

Chara had been so tired of being woken up from what should have been a peaceful death.

Imagine it. Being woken up from calm oblivion over and over again by a child with too much determination who was misusing the power that only a god should have.

The power to Save and Load. The power to RESET. To turn back time and change the past.

That would piss anyone off.

Then imagine wondering if that child was going to either befriend all the monsters they knew and loved or slaughter them all and not being able to do a damn thing to stop them.

Still not angry enough? Alright.

Now imagine, on top of  _that_ , the child tries to run from taking responsibility for their actions when you had at first  _thought_  they were only killing to become emotionally strong enough to send the wretched world into oblivion, but instead realizing they had only killed the ones you loved just to see what would happen. For  _funsies_.

That would make waking up from actual death feel like a true death sentence.

Frisk had kept trying to dodge responsibility. Acting like they were sorry for what they had done. Acting like they had a change of heart. Pssh, yeah right. Every action someone performs has an equal and opposing reaction. A  _consequence_. There was no escaping that. As many times as Chara had been given Frisk's soul in order to bring the world back from the abyss that Frisk themselves had tossed it into, only to be denied in the end the destruction the world deserved, Chara was sick of it. They wanted the cycle to end.

So they presented an ultimatum.

Frisk would be able to keep their soul and they would allow the world to keep living. But in exchange?

Frisk had to perform a True Reset. And never come back, allowing Chara to rest peacefully. If they came back, the world would pay in return.  _Harshly._

They agreed, albeit very reluctantly. But, had they not inflicted so much pain on the ones they claimed they loved, the comedian especially? Didn't they owe them that much?

Chara had gone back to their rest triumphantly, believing they had won.

Why they had never accounted for someone else falling, they would never know.

Chara believed that only Frisk could awaken them from their slumber. They were wrong.

And wow, were they glad they were.

The adult woman that had woken them up was so much different. She had been through so much hell... Frisk had too, in their own way, but they were a child, even younger than Chara. They didn't use the hell as an example of what  _not_ to do.

She did.

At first, because of the True Reset, Chara couldn't remember everything that happened when they first awoke. When the woman had reached their mother's home and fell asleep for the first time, that's when the memories flooded back.

They didn't want her to think they were evil or cruel (nor was it any of her business anyway in their opinion) so they blocked off those parts of their memories and sure as hell didn't plan on telling her anything major about their past. It may have been hypocritical as Chara helped themselves to her own memories, but they just weren't comfortable with it. She knew they were keeping information from her too... But she respected their privacy.

Chara didn't know why they became so attached so quickly. Maybe because she cared so much for children. Or maybe they could empathize with her pain, the dullness she felt inside.

Either way... She was the happiest thing they had since their death... She could never replace their best friend, but... She was like an older sibling now.

They could feel the ugly feeling of jealousy bubbling forth whenever she interacted with the skeletons. It wasn't exactly fair, but Chara couldn't help it. She was the only one they could interact with for one, and after spending so much time with her with no one else but Toriel to take up her attention, they weren't used to sharing. It didn't help that they were always on edge when the boney comedian was around; They had reason enough to be wary, and it wasn't helping their jealousy any that Sans seemed to be taking a particular interest in  _their_ older sister. Papyrus was easier to deal with, though they felt completely irritated with the fact that Papyrus had sent her into a massive panic attack that nearly made her fall to her death, and she forgave him right off the bat.

They were glad that she hadn't died yet, though. They weren't exactly ready to explain why she had been constantly saving something she knew nothing about.

Chara was happy that she had accepted them as they were. Accepted ALL the monsters as themselves. Didn't want to fight; Wished for peace most of all. They were sure they couldn't say the same about most humans on the surface.

Olivia. That was her name.

She sure lived up to it.

* * *

**Flowey**

If Flowey was honest with himself (which he wasn't; honesty didn't matter much to him anymore), he would admit that he was absolutely  _enraged._

About what exactly?

 _Her._ That new  _human._

For some reason, when he first saw her, her appearance didn't feel... right. He had no idea why, but it felt like she shouldn't have been there.

The look in her eye. The blank feeling it showed... It mirrored the emptiness inside himself. She looked soulless, though she definitely was not. He had pulled it out of her after all.

Speaking of which, it was gray... and pink. What madness was that? He had never seen that before. Was it a new type of a soul? Was she the only one with one that looked like that?

....It didn't matter, she was the seventh human to fall, and if he stole her soul, he could find the others that the old fool was hiding and become a GOD.

He should have known it wouldn't have been that simple.

His mother, though she didn't and would never know _that_  if he had his way, had saved that stupid untrusting woman right before his death blow could reach her. Then, said woman had accepted his mother's help and had even  _lived_ with her for several months. He would follow her every day she left that ridiculous little home to go explore the RUINS, and it infuriated him to watch her give mercy to other monsters over and over and over again.

He was also confused. How could someone who looked so... empty... be so kind? It made no sense. Perhaps she just made a default decision; Humans were a pretty vain race from what he knew, and sometimes did 'kind' things in public to keep from letting anyone else know about the sins they performed in private.

He thought that once he explained that this world was 'kill or be killed' when she had _finally_ decided to leave the RUINS, she would let go of that insipid 'merciful' smoke screen.

He was wrong. Dead wrong.

The empty animated body he thought was walking around posing to be human was not empty in the slightest. The sharp lines that made her dull expression had softened. The emotionless silver-blue eye he had gazed into several months earlier was not the same.

There was a spark there.

Distaste. Anger.  _Defiance._

When she had opened her mouth and told him in very detailed, _colorful_ terms what she thought of him... Well, to say he was floored would have been an understatement, as well a disgusting pun that the smiling trash bag on the other side of the door would have loved to make. It had taken him a few minutes to pull himself back together after she had disappeared and follow her, rage swirling around in his whole unassuming body.

She had been telling the truth. She had no intentions to kill or even harm anyone, even from the beginning. He had been so wrong in judging her from her appearance. She was just like the other humans that had fallen.

Well... no. None of the others had a dual colored soul, an absolute aversion to fighting no matter the situation, were full grown or were seemingly content with the underground and the meager things it had to offer. Imagine that! She wasn't even  _trying_ to make it back to the surface! She just walked towards Snowdin, continuing to befriend monsters and interact with the smiley trash bag and his idiot brother.

It made his chlorophyll boil... And made his master plan that much harder to carry out.

However... She was something new. Something even more fun to add to the boring things he'd already done.

A malicious smile curled on his face.

To him, it didn't matter what her name was.

She was just another toy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt nice to not type in second person for a little bit.
> 
> Yay~! Over 70 kudos, 10 bookmarks, and 600 hits~! My happiness knows no bounds!!
> 
> Comments and kudos are love, darlings~!


	13. Meanwhile, on the Surface...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see how the surface is working without Olivia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another rather boring chapter. Sorry I took so long with it, I wasn't as excited about this one. Short chapter is short.
> 
> I also had that other story in my head that I just HAD to write down.
> 
> Sigh... Finally, these boring chapters are finished.

If you think Olivia just slipped away like a shadow into the night without leaving a type of scene behind, you're very wrong.

She had been stockpiling evidence against her parents for a very long time, so when she finally had the courage she could throw a lawsuit at their faces and send their fake, uppity asses to jail without a hitch.

Only... There was a hitch. A _gigantic_ hitch.

She was missing.

Oh, she wasn't stupid enough to leave all her evidence in some dusty corner waiting for someone to come across it. She had left it with her best friend.

And was she living up to her name at the moment.

Hellena was the Yin to Olivia's Yang. She was outspoken and aggressive, took no shit from anyone, and was an overall  _fierce_ female. She would be classified as an eclectic punk rocker; She had short, spiky black hair, deep brown eyes, and usually wore spiked jeans and boots with her one-shoulder shirts that would contrast nicely with her pale skin. Olivia was lethargic, conservative and reserved; She was always on the move, flirty and boisterous. She was about level with Olivia in height- but while Olivia's body was soft and voluptuous, Hellena was skinny and more athletic looking. They were complete opposites, from looks to personality.

And as you can imagine, names as well. Olivia and Hellena. Peace and Hell.

They had met through similar interests. They volunteered to take care of children at the same orphanage when Olivia was around 15 and Hellena was around 19, protesting against the conditions they had seen the children were living in and advocating for better meals, sleeping areas, and more attention towards their education. Despite their major differences and the minor difference in age, they became fast friends.

Hellena could read in between the lines pretty well. She noticed how reclusive Olivia was. How she preferred silence and music over a conversation. How she preferred to cover up as much skin as possible. How she would flinch away from loud sounds and physical contact. But with how close-lipped Olivia was, it took her a full year and a half into their friendship to know fully what was going on. And that was with some major snooping on her part.

It enraged her, and it was with some shame she would admit to hassling her about it, wondering why she took the abuse and didn't tell a soul. That caused some fights and shouting matches between them.

She still remembered the major injury that had happened just a few months before she disappeared...

Olivia had disappeared from her life with only a call as a warning. She had said she merely wanted some peace and quiet for a little while before finally getting past this horrible part of her life. Hellena was reluctant to let her go alone, especially when she was told she was headed in the general direction of Mt. Ebott, but relented when Olivia had taken a desperate tone, saying she needed it. It took her aback. Olivia never showed much emotion; Hellena pretty much claimed the only reason she could tell how Olivia felt from day to day was because of she worked her ass off to get a Masters in Psychology while running the family bar.

But now, Hellena was sorely regretting not going with her best friend.

She was gone. She had not answered a single call or text since she disappeared. It had been months since she last heard her voice, and it was  _eating_ her.

But in her absence, Hellena was not remaining idle, oh no. She wanted vengeance. **Justice.**

True to her namesake, Hellena was raising absolute  _Hell._

Olivia's family, the Trainer family, was, in fact, one of the richest and most influential families in the region, and as such, were expected to go to grand parties and donate to charities, etcetera...

So imagine the upheaval in the news and the city when proof of two of the most elite members of the community constantly abusing their only daughter was suddenly presented to the masses.

Heh. Hellena, to be perfectly honest, loved the chaos. She wanted to absolutely humiliate the monsters that were Olivia's so called parents and put them through as much pain and suffering to make up for what they had put her best friend through.

And what better way to do that than to completely obliterate their reputation before locking them up as long as possible?

But Hellena, at the moment, was mourning the loss of her friend in the tiny apartment that she owned, not in her usual 'on-the-go' mood as she moped around the laughably small living room in just a T-shirt and shorts. It was getting easier to ignore the constant messages coming from the receiver on her home phone, which was mostly just news anchors and nosy people trying to get ahold of her these days. The dark overcast of the day really matched her mood; She was actually hoping it would rain sooner or later.

She had been on the couch the entire morning, staring blankly at the cracked ceiling with a cell phone in hand, hoping in vain for a message or a call from the person she really wanted to speak to.

It was around early afternoon that a soft knock at the door roused her from her staring contest with the ceiling.

"Ugh..." Rolling uncaringly from the couch onto the floor, she crawled over to the door, debating whether or not to leave the person outside in suspense before standing up with a soft groan and looking through the peephole. Blinking slightly at the people she was seeing, she opened the door and was immediately tackle-hugged by a small body.

"Ah, Frisk!" She turned fond eyes down at a smiling child who barely reached her hip, watching as their hands blurred into motion as they took a step back before tugging at her T-shirt, waggling their eyebrows up at the woman and making her chuckle. When Hellena and Olivia first met Frisk, they made it a point to learn ASL in order to understand them. And man was the kid a flirt!

"You're going to be a smooth operator when you grow up, squirt. Never change." She gently ruffled up their hair and making them give a silent giggle, before turning her attention to the grown man in a suit at her door, her expression changing into something much more closed off.

"Mr. Trainer." The male sighed as he stepped through the door with a wry smile.

"Miss Hellena, I still insist that you call me Leon. As we are slandering my family name at the moment, I'd rather not have such a name pinned to me."

"You have not earned my respect yet, sir. I still don't like you, if you have not noticed." Frisk tightly hugged Hellena's leg as she crossed her arms, not at all oblivious to the tension in the room.

"Blunt and brutally honest as ever, I see..." He reached up to take off his hat with a slightly irritated expression, before sighing as he moved to shrug off his coat. "I wished to speak with you about the lawsuit and criminal case towards my parents..."

"Then why is the kid here?" She interjected, nodding towards Frisk who was wandering off to go sit on the couch.

"I saw them walking up the steps to your apartment when I was parking... Don't look at me that way, I'm telling the truth." She narrowed her eyes before glancing over at the child who was trying mighty hard not to meet her gaze.

"Frisk, what have I told you about walking all the way over here from the orphanage by yourself?" They groaned with a soft frown before they moved their hands reluctantly, making Hellena's frown turn into a scowl.

"Some more kids bullying you huh? I'm going to have a few choice words with those caretakers down there..." Frisk seemed slightly more chipper at that; they were a good kid, but they had quite the mischievous tendencies, so getting the bullies in trouble appealed to them. "You still shouldn't make the walk down here without an adult, though. Do you have any idea how many sick, awful people live in this world?"

Hellena didn't notice the flinch and guilty look towards the ground at that, as she had turned to regard the man in front of her coolly once more. "So about that case."

"Straight to the point then. The two minors that were still in their care have been taken from them. The evidence definitely has those fools in a bind, as they are being watched constantly and pretty much have the media at their throats at this point. Your rather rising influence has set the news ablaze in the entire region it seems." Hellena couldn't keep the prideful look off of her face at that; it meant everything was going according to plan. "But... They are continuously using their influence to keep themselves out of prison and make the judge in charge of their hearings push them back. But the judge can't stall forever."

"Ugh... Damn the corruption in the political system..." She hissed softly to herself, tightly gripping her phone; If she was any stronger it would have broke. "What's the bullshit reason they're giving to have it stalled?"

"Olivia is not here to give testimony." An actual growl rumbled in her throat at that, feeling the pain once again twist her expression. "Without her here, they claim that Olivia could have been mentally disturbed, and inflicted all those wounds on herself."

"There is no way Olivia could GOUGE out her  _own_ eye!!" She immediately shouted in response, making Frisk jump and cringe at the angry glares the two adults were pinning each other.

"I  _know_ that. But with her history of depression and no one but you to vouch for her, it sounds plausible."

"If you were there in her time of need like the good big brother she so desperately _claimed_ you were, maybe it wouldn't  _sound_ so plausible." The tension in the air would need a chainsaw in order to cut through it as figurative sparks flew between their enraged eyes. Frisk, not being able to deal with such tension, ran back over to hug the hissing woman's leg, looking up at her with tears welling at the corners of their very slender eyes.

'I really miss Olivia...' They signed up to her, making her angry expression fade into one of deep sorrow.

"Me too Frisk... Me too..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG-
> 
> WHY HAVE I GOTTEN OVER 700 HITS AND 90 KUDOS FOR THIS?! I AM NOT THIS SPECIAL!!! *Weeps deep tears of joy.*


	14. Night Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another nightmare rears its head...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting my lazy ass up to write this was not easy. Was kinda enjoying my forced break. But I'm back now!

_It was cold._

_So very, very cold._

_There was no mistaking the deep frown on your face as you scouted out your surroundings with suspicious eyes._

_You were in a forest of some kind... Thick evergreen trees surrounded you, and the snowy landscape seemed to go on forever. It seemed familiar, but you could not place it._

_It didn't help that it was dark and an eerie, foreboding feeling hung around the entire setting either._

_Ugh, damn it..._

_Huffing irritably, you glanced down at yourself and performed a double-take as you realized how much smaller and shorter you seemed to be than you KNEW you were. Your hands searched your form in a panic, as you were pretty damn sure you weren't going to find a mirror anytime soon, and a lightning bolt of fear jolted through your body as it hit you._

_You had looked around with eyes before._ Eyes _. As in **plural**._

_You were significantly shorter. No longer the well-endowed mess you saw in the mirror. Your body could have been mistaken for a boy if you negated your eyes and hair._

_Had very small hands, with chubby little fingers that twitched incredulously when you looked at them._

_Pressing said hands to your face, you realized your face was less angled and more rounded and there was no mistaking the baby fat that made up your round cheeks._

_You glanced back to look as you tugged on your hair; much shorter, it reached your shoulders. And black._

_......Holy Hell._

_'I must be dreaming...' You thought as a startled gasp slipped past your lips. There was no other explanation, that had to be the reason._

_After all, you were very sure you couldn't change to look like your eight-year-old self at will._

_'Extremely uncomfortable... I am_ extremely _uncomfortable here...' You whimpered mentally as you watched your surroundings with a frightened expression. You couldn't have looked nearly as threatening as you could have to any predator prowling around as your eight-year-old self. Moving both eyes up to the sky (still freaking out about that), a strangled noise of shock left you as your eyes only spotted a dark blue-violet rock ceiling where the sky should have been._

_Underground._

_Right, now you remembered... You must have been around Snowdin... but as a child? With this horrible feeling in the air? Fuck._

_'I need to move. It doesn't matter if this is a dream or not... If I stay in one place, I'll be found for sure.' With that chilling thought in mind, you wrapped your arms around your trembling body and began moving forward._

_The feeling of unease did not lessen in the slightest as you stumbled through the snow. In fact, as you moved forward with taut muscles ready to react if anyone showed themselves, it strengthened to the point where it was bordering on terror._

_Snow continued to fall. Your anxiety continued to rise._

_Staying off the path was your first instinct. You'd be less likely to be found by something not so friendly. Monsters had never been very rude to you, but you were very skittish with this throw-up worthy feeling in the air. Winding quietly through the trees and trying to make your steps as quiet as possible, shuddering visible puffs of air left your lips as your eyes and ears strained in order to not miss a damn thing._

_And your actions rewarded you quite quickly._

_A familiar haziness descended as you walked through the forest, which definitely didn't help your anxiety, but once you remembered who might be hanging around in a clearing out here..._

_Your head whipped around excitedly as you looked for the familiar skeletal cinnamon roll._ He _definitely wouldn't hurt you! It would be hard to explain why you were suddenly a kid again, but surely he would help!_

_Spotting a clearing, you could see the well-known silhouette of your new friend and you rushed forward with a happy cry to meet him, almost forgetting entirely about your uneasiness._

_But then you stopped._

_There was someone else already watching the scene, hidden behind a tree. You knew his appearance well._

_"Sans...?" You couldn't help but call out softly, slowly approaching the blue hooded figure's back with caution. You could see the stress and tension in his shoulders, and you had known ever since you met him he was much stronger and scarier than he downplayed himself to be. Accidentally scaring him was probably a painful way to die._

_But he didn't answer you. He didn't even acknowledge your existence._

_"Sans... Hey, Sans, it's me.." You tentatively reached out to tap his shoulder..._

_And your tiny hand fazed right through it._

_You watched him shudder with wide eyes; You couldn't touch him physically, but apparently he had felt the chill of your hand going through his body. So you weren't tangible. He probably couldn't even hear you._

_You began to wonder why he was watching Papyrus._

_Side-stepping to look around him, being wary of the feeling of static building around him, you turned your eyes to the scene he was watching and froze._ _A chill that was not the snow's doing took your little body._

_There was a very familiar woman standing in front of Papyrus._

_'It's me.' Or... was it..?_

_"_ _YOUR LIFE SEEMS TO BE GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH HUMAN." Your eyes snapped to Papyrus' form as his normally cheerful tone sounded much more serious. "BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL IN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY!" Switching your gaze from Papyrus to the female, your eyes widened that much further._

_Her LV was 8 now. HP was 48/48._

_Fine gray dust completely speckled her clothing. The adult you had her silver-grey hair down and a lot of it hung in a way like the Grudge, hiding her face. Her pink skirt was tattered, and her hands no longer held that toy knife, but instead were covered in old pink fighting gloves. She shambled forward._

_Oh no. Nonononono- Papyrus, please-!_

_"HUMAN, I BELIEVE YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE! WORRY NOT, I, PAPYRUS... WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR!" He was getting nervous, watching the adult you move closer. You remembered how this... thing had killed Toriel. Through the whisps of hair hiding her face, you could spot her mouth set in a stony line. "I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!"_

_You wanted to scream for him to run. Your throat wouldn't work. Neither would your legs. Nothing was working. You were stiff and frozen, watching with wide glassy eyes. The static from Sans grew exponentially._

_You sweet, naive fool! Run! She'll kill you! You have your brother to worry about!!_

_The corner of your counterpart's lips twitched upwards._

 

_She snapped her arm back, forming a fist..._

 

 

_And with a single hit, the skeleton was headless._

_His body turned to dust._

 

_Not even the mysterious force that was rendering you stationary and silent was enough now; you shot forward with a feral scream of horror to where the innocent monster's skull rested in the snow, beside a single red rose you recognized had been pinned on his shirt. You disregarded everything else around you as you slid onto your knees, your shaking hands hovering over his face as tears flowed freely._

_No, no, why him...?!_

_"W-WELL, THAT'S... NOT WHAT I EXPECTED..." Your eyes were probably wide and wild as you stared down at what was left of your new friend, watching ghostly tears plip and slowly collect and roll down his bone forehead as he spoke. "BUT... ST... STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER... EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO! I... I PROMISE..." An unintelligible, strangled sound of grief left your lips at his words before his eye sockets turned up..._

_To undoubtedly stare at you._

_"HUMAN CHILD... WHERE DID YOU COME FROM...? MORE IMPORTANTLY... WHY ARE YOU CRYING?" Your arms shook as you whimpered, incredulous eyes staring down at his face. How could he see you...? "DO NOT BE SAD FOR ME TINY HUMAN... I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! THOUGH YOU SHALL SURELY MISS MY PRESENCE... I SHALL ALWAYS BE AROUND!"_

_With those words... His skull faded to dust in your little hands._

_A heavy silence reigned, and your body trembled as hot tears flowed from your eyes and dripped into his dust._

_Despair... turned to Fury._

_"Girl." You twitched slightly; Just hearing that voice..... "Who are you?" Feeling a slightly manic laugh marred with grief rising in your throat, you felt your expression twist hatefully as you turned to glare, feeling your lips pull back in a snarl._

_"Oh, so you don't remember...?" Showing your face fully, a sadistic smile curled your lips as you realized you threw her for a loop, so much so that she took a step back. "Ah, you do... How does it feel, seeing what you used to be...? Hm?" Her head jerked back in her shock, and as you got a glance at her face, your own grew colder._

_Her humanity was fading._

_"How... H-How is-"_

_"If you don't know, I sure don't... But you've been busy, haven't you, you wretch?" You gestured to her clothes with a cold nod of your head, watching the flash of an indiscernible emotion move through the single eye she sported. "Who are you to take the life of another...? Especially an innocent person's...?!" The rage was uncontrollable as you grasped the red rose in your hand gently, not wanting to crush the fragile petals. "Did you hear what he said...? Even after what you did... He believed in you... And you killed him!"_

_"You know nothing, you little fool-"_

_"I know nothing?! You killed him for sport! He never did anything wrong...! He only wanted to become someone who could protect others... He only wanted good friends! You took that away from him! You took him away from his_ brother _!!" Your voice snarled through two octaves, hot tears still running down your face and your body trembling with absolute fury. "It wasn't just him... You've killed everything you've seen, haven't you? Ice Cap, Froggit, Vegetoid... Toriel... Has all the hell we've been through on the surface justify this... slaughter?! Is that it?!?!" You were surprised by the potency of the hate you could feel powering your words; The irony was not lost on you, this was taking self-hatred to a whole new level._

_"How would you know what I've been through...? You're young..."_

_"In case you haven't noticed, I'm you, idiot." You sniped, a dark humorless chuckle leaving you, your hands gripping your shirt as you tried to hold yourself back from launching towards her as the urge to harm grew stronger. "Or, well... I used to be. You're no longer me. You're stripping away what little dignity, and compassion we... no,_ you _had left..." The malicious grin was not something you could hide, and she shifted uneasily in response to seeing it._

_"You've become worse than our parents."_

_If you weren't expecting the strong reaction to your words, the force of her grabbing you by your collar and lifting you up to her face would have given you whiplash. But instead, almost giddy giggles left you as the dusty rose slipped out of your hands._

_"Ooh, sorry, did I hit a nerve? Or are you angry because I'm right? I mean, they are horrible people, but they aren't committing genocide~." The fact that the fury on her human, yet non-human face continued to grow struck you with glee rather than fear. "I hope you die a horrible death for what you're doing to them... Doing to Chara." The expression froze as you giggled madly; If Chara was attached to this demon's soul, then every person they murdered affected them too._

_Realizing you had completely forgotten someone else was watching, you glanced minutely to the side to see the only skeleton left watching with completely black eye sockets, an utterly confused expression, and an extremely tight grip on the trunk of the tree he was behind. Looking back to her as her grip tightened, you gazed judgingly into the... murky murderous blue eye of the person you were slowly not beginning to recognize._

_"Burn in hell." You went limp as she pulled her fist back and-_

 

 

***Olivia!! Wake up!**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this took!
> 
> What could all of this mean?


	15. New Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up from a night terror has Olivia in a panic, but the local comedian helps calm her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give it up for chapter 15!!

Sans wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting as the end result of the battle.

Yeah, he had been there watching, like he always did. Had to make sure his little brother was safe, if you were as nice as you led everyone to believe. He had gone through too much hell and high water to just let a new person waltz into the Underground after he was just beginning to believe Frisk had finally gotten bored of playing with people's lives and left them alone, and let you fuck things up for your own amusement.

Well, it was safe to say that his expectations of what was to happen were completely blown out of the water- er... snow in this case.

You had panicked. Big time. You obviously did not want to fight, ever. You had even loudly announced that you weren't going to hurt Papyrus.

Now, Sans was a firm believer in 'actions speak louder than words', so he wasn't going to just up and leave, believing that, but then...

You hadn't even lifted a threatening finger towards his brother.

It didn't matter how many times you had been hit, or how drained you looked as you tried to keep up with Papyrus' energetic movements.

You were patient.

You were  _determined_.

He could feel the sincerity in your pulsing soul, watching the grey-turned-royal-blue like aura flaring strongly as you sinuously swayed and twirled back and forth. Man, did you look good as you moved. Your face set in concentration, framed by silky silver strands that still covered the right side of your face, your confident steps and the way your body undulated gracefully as you danced...

Ack! Getting side-tracked! Bad thoughts!

Returning to the real world now...

Anyway, when it became apparent that you weren't gonna do a damn thing to hurt Papyrus, he couldn't stop himself from helping you when the gigantic bone attack appeared and began baring down on your form.

Yeah, he was the one that had lifted you up and helped you clear it. It happened before he could even think about what he was doing.

And when you had practically lunged at the chance to give his brother Mercy, he knew he had made the right choice.

Oh, and that speech! He was equally taken and holding back deep chortles of joy at _that_ cheesy spiel. But he knew you had meant it; He could feel it radiating in your soul. He'd admit he was a tiny bit worried when he saw that the fissures in your soul had widened, but he was quickly satisfied when he saw that they had healed right back up to how it looked when he had first seen it as his brother carried your shivering form off.

He had his powers for a reason. A reason he wasn't going to ever let anyone know at the moment, but a very good reason. And he could see that despite the hardship in your life... you definitely didn't want hurt anyone.

Besides... Anyone who wanted to be friends with Papyrus was at least partially alright to him. Even more so if they genuinely liked puns and bad jokes.

So.

That was that. 

....

Although... Now there was a new problem.

Which was... He and his brother had a new roommate.

Who was an adult. And human. And female.

Who he may or may not be gaining a physical attraction to.

....

_Well, shit._

* * *

 

Papyrus would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't at all pleased with how things turned out.

And the Great Papyrus was not a fan of lying. Especially to himself.

So yes, he was immensely pleased with gaining the human as a friend. The fact that you were the one to come to HIM and ask to start a friendship, even after the first reluctant rejection, was amazing! Not to mention he had a date as well! He was so elated he hardly knew what to do with himself!

Well, that wouldn't do. You seeing him flustered would be extremely embarrassing. It was embarrassing enough you had to console him when he had started to cry in front of you - and he sincerely hoped you'd never bring it up because he would deny that to the day he became dust.

So he had cheerfully scooped your trembling form up and moved slowly towards his house, curiously watching your eye flutter in the attempt to stay awake before drooping closed. He wouldn't complain, and would instead let you sleep; He was rather impressed by how valiantly you danced in order to keep up with his own amazing self. If nothing else, he was a gentlemonster and would let you rest and recuperate on his couch as he went to get your things from the inn.

Finally standing in front of his house, he easily cradled you in one arm as he threw the door open with a flourish.

"sup, bro? how'd the dance battle go?" Of course, his lazy brother was laying on the couch! Darn it!

"SANS!" A soft whimper from your sleeping form tucked in his arm made him wince before lowering his voice many octaves. "The dance was amazing! The human is most talented! Not as talented as I, but still very gifted!"

"course not bro. no one's as cool as you." A 'nyeh heh heh' was the reward as Papyrus strolled over to the couch and grasped Sans by his hoodie before picking him up and putting you down in his place. "'ey... c'mon paps, I was laying there."

"You have a room to be lazy in! The human does not! The human is rooming with us as of now, and this will be where she sleeps!" Placing his brother back on his feet, he struck a heroic pose. "The inn is rather expensive, and I, being the oh-so-generous monster that I am, decided to open up our home to this poor creature! It's better than letting her stay out in the snow once she runs out of gold!"

"heh. that's real  _ice_ of ya paps." The taller skeleton twitched before narrowing his sockets at his brother.

"Sans."

"oops,  _icy_ you didn't really like that one, bro."

"Sans!"

"aww, there's no need to give me the  _cold shoulder._ "

"SANS!"

A sleepy grumble interrupted the one-sided banter as your form shifted on the couch, making them freeze and their maws click shut as they watched with bated breath until you went still once more with a soft sigh. A few silent seconds passed before Papyrus spoke in a soft tone.

"She's... rather nice, isn't she Sans?"

"...yeah. yeah, she is. she seems pretty cool about being captured, huh?"

"Ah... W-Well, actually, I... Didn't capture her." Sans' brow bones shot up as he stared up at his brother; Despite knowing what happened, he didn't think his brother would actually fess up to that. "The state of her SOUL rather worried me, so I wasn't _really_ trying to hurt her, but she didn't want to fight even from the beginning. I fear I was being rather foolish... Even so, she refused to attack me. I was rather confused why; We were always told that humans were evil... But she's so nice! And she likes puzzles and spaghetti! How could someone like that be evil?"

If Sans was being honest, the fact that Papyrus was looking so deep into this was making him... nervous. Not sure why... "maybe we were wrong papy. we'll ask her when she wakes up. _tibia_ honest, i might just like her because she likes jokes and puns, though."

"Ugh, don't remind me! She made a joke about my blue attack!" Sans held back a snicker as Papyrus huffed irritably at the reminder and the pun, before watching him turn towards the door.

"where you goin' now bro?"

"To retrieve the human's belongings! She mentioned she had to change out of her wet and cold clothes or she may become... 'sick'. Whatever _that_ means! I'm guessing it's bad, and I'd rather nothing bad happen during our date!" He winced slightly at the reminder; Guess some things never change.

But huh. Sans didn't have a clue what 'becoming sick' meant either. Maybe you'd tell him if he asked once you woke up. Watching his brother go gallivanting out the door, he turned his gaze back towards you on the couch, all curled up and...

Panting...?

His perpetual smile lessened slightly as he watched your face scrunch up with a whimper and you grasped at your arms in a tight, desperate manner. He slowly approached and gently shook your shoulder, flinching back when a violent shudder wracked your body along with a louder whimper as a chaser.

'shit. must be a nightmare...' God knows he had enough of those to understand what these signs meant. Trying to forcefully pull someone out of a nightmare was a bad idea, especially if they were sleeping in a place they'd never seen before. Hoping Papyrus wouldn't get back too quickly and blow what he was about to do out of proportion, he cautiously ran a hand through the splayed out mess that was your hair and gently rubbed his phalanges against your scalp, watching as your form twitched before it slowly relaxed. Your disturbed expression eased into something slightly more comfortable, which made Sans sigh in relief.

Convinced that you were still in deep sleep, he turned his attention to the strands sliding like silk through his around his phalanges, curiously watching each individual strand move in its own chaotic way. Hair wasn't something many monsters had, so it wasn't a thing he really got to... study, for lack of a better term.

Speaking of studying, the difference in your expression was incredible when you were asleep. Even with the nightmare making creases upon your face that he didn't particularly like, he could appreciate the beauty you held. There were no barriers here; The always guarded expression you held no matter what you felt was nonexistent, and he couldn't help but feel rather lucky to see it down. He was in the same boat as you, he knew, it was just a bit different. Instead of a blank expression, it was a smile and jokes in order to keep others from knowing what was really going on.

In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had to try so hard to read the emotions of another person. Even your soul kept up a mask, and restricted itself from giving too much away. It, in equal parts, confounded, irritated, and intrigued him. You were a new puzzle that he actually wanted to solve, and it brought up so many questions. Most of all, why were YOU here? What had made Frisk give up? Would they ever come back? Could you affect the timeline now that Frisk was gone?

Snapping back to attention, he realized his messing with your hair as he went into thinking mode caused him to flip some of the strands into your face. He quickly moved to rectify that, and froze at the soft, pleased sound he undoubtedly heard from your throat. 'i am really pushing my luck here...' The lights that made his eyes flickered to the long heavy bangs that even now _still_ covered the right side of your face, and with no one around, he let his grin slip into an actual frown.

Why would you hide part of your pretty face...?

...For some reason, he felt that you would vehemently reject his curious probing if he asked about it.

'i really shouldn't be doing this. i really  _really_ should  _not_ be doing this...'

As his hand slowly inched towards the offending chunk of hair, he didn't notice the sudden lurch the edges of your soul gave...

Although he sure as hell noticed when you shot up out of your sleep with a strangled, frightened cry, not even noticing as Sans yanked his hand back and quickly hiding both hands in his hoodie pocket as he nervously watched your gasping form look around in a terrified manner.

"you ok kiddo?" He tensed as you whipped your head around to look at him, a wild look in your eye and hand clutching the bangs around the place where your right eye would be, panting softly for air.

"...S-Sans...?"

"that's my name."

"Where... Oh..." Looking around with a slightly more sane look, he was almost sad to see that mask slowly taking its place over your expression once more. "That's right, I was... Is this... you and your brother's house...?"

"that's right pal." Giving a single nod, he watched you rub at your eye with a soft groan. "you look  _bone-tired_ there kid." He wishes he could have squashed down the feeling of victory at the weak little laugh he gained. "my brother wore you out huh?"

"You have no idea... I don't usually like putting forth so much effort, but hey... Your brother's enthusiasm is infectious." You eyed his pleased smile at your words before you looked around once more, this time actually searching for something.

"Where's Papyrus...?"

"went to go get your stuff from the inn, since yer stayin' with us now. and 'ey, thanks for being good to my brother." He chuckled at the superior 'I told you so' look you pinned him with as he pulled his hands out of his pockets. "seemed excited to have ya stay here. oh, and about that date too." He watched gleefully as your eye widened before you groaned out loud, dropping your face into your hands.

"God damn it... He was serious about that?!"

"seemed pretty serious bud."

"Oh God... What do you even do on a date?! I've never been on a single one in my entire life!" Your eye narrowed and a scowl came to your face as a surprised sound left him. "Say. Nothing."

"no- but wait, you're serious?"

"Why would anyone joke about a nonexistent love life, dude? Besides, it's not that shocking. I mean, look at me!" Whoever was the cause of your complete lack of self-esteem had better watch out if he ever saw the light of the sun again.

"humans must be blind..." He grumbled angrily to himself, before freezing as your eye began boring into his own. 'shit..' "er... did i say that out loud?"

"Yes. Yes, you did." You stared fiercely, watching his grin become even more strained as seconds ticked by before you cut him some slack and turned away. "You don't know any better, though, so I won't hold it against you." He felt true irritation at that-he wasn't blind damn it!-until he spotted a flush of red on your visible cheek.

Wait a minute, was that...?

.....

Oh. 

Oh ho ho _ho!_

You were _blushing!!_

He couldn't say that he hated the small fluttering feeling his soul gave at  _that_ realization!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've hit 100 kudos people! And over 900 hits! Today is a joyous day!
> 
> Adding to the celebration, Savoye celebrated his birthday yesterday!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love!
> 
> Until next update lovelies~! Ja ne!


	16. Family First, Friendship Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some familial fluff between adopted siblings, and friendly fluff between our heroine and the local skelly-roll.
> 
> Sans also has conflicted felings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Pretends to be Mushu rising from smoke.* IIIIIII LIIIIIIIIIIIVE~!

 

***Olivia!! Wake up!**

 

* * *

Upon waking, you were sure of only one thing.

Chara was completely and utterly losing their shit.

With your ears (really your mind) being assaulted by absolutely enraged and filthy curses as you lurched out of your nightmare, you were so disoriented that you couldn't focus on exactly what Chara was so angry at. However, upon noticing Sans standing beside you, you had successfully blocked Chara's rant as you spoke to him. Years on the surface had caused you to become a pro at ignoring loud things.

But since you had the awesome ability to make any conversation with anyone who wasn't your best friend awkward, there was a tense lull as you stared up at the ceiling, hoping your tanned face was actually doing its job to hide the blush you just  _knew_ was there.

Something told you that wasn't the case, though.

"so, uh... i don't suppose you're at all hungry or anything..."

"I can always eat." You spoke seriously as your gaze snapped back towards him, and he chuckled in response, the both of you relaxing as the tension broke.

"welp, i'll get you a cinnabunny or somethin'. knowin' my brother, he'll probably want to do the date as soon as he comes back, and i will bet anything that he's gonna make you spaghetti too. i love my bro, but his spaghetti is... uh..."

"...Unique?"

"yeah, let's go with that." He shrugged, his grin turning lazy and shit eating. "let me see if we got any cinnabunnies left in the kitchen." Nodding in reply, you sat properly on the couch as he turned and sauntered towards the kitchen.

And you finally tuned into Chara, who was still going off like a rabid dog.

***Of course, I should have known that your FAT ASS would be talking about _FOOD_ RIGHT NOW-**

Like whoa.

***Good for nothing disrespectful violating PIECE OF SHIT-**

What made them so angry...?

***Go fuck yourself-! oh, wait probably can't even do that because you literally don't have the DICK or BALLS to DO IT-**

You weren't exactly the best influence either, huh?

***So why don't you go sit on a cactus until you DIE instead you useless mOLESTING SON OF A FUCKING BASTARD-**

Holy fucking shit, what exactly happened?!

'Chara, calm down!!'

***No!! That smiling trash bag should get his ass KICKED-!**

'Please Chara, I have a headache, stop...!' Angry silence descended in your mind as Chara came into focus, and your eye rested on an incredibly pissed teeny-bopper ghost who was kneeling on the couch beside you, pointing a vicious snarl in the direction that Sans disappeared. 'I don't like seeing you angry... What can I do to calm you down?'

 ***Poison that fucker with expired ketchup, and I'll be incredibly happy.** Welp, that was way too dark for you to be comfortable with.

'Er... How about a hug instead...?' Chara glared in the direction of the kitchen before crawling over to you. They started to lift their arms in order to hug you but then froze as a skeptical expression merged with their angry one.

 ***How are we supposed to hug without you looking like a weirdo if someone comes back and sees you?** You pursed your lips as you realized they had a point before you snapped your fingers as an idea popped into your head.

'I've got it! Sit on my lap, face me, and give me a hug that way.' Their red eyes narrowed slightly before they followed your instructions and you smiled at the comforting pressure on your legs as they wrapped their arms around your shoulders, leaning their whole weight onto your form.

In the silence, despite having to pretend you were just relaxing on the couch, you felt the irritated edges of your soul slowly cease their roiling as you felt the tension ease from Chara. You listened to their soft breathing puff past your ear, and as they relaxed, so did you.

'Feeling better?'

***....A little.**

'Good. I've never seen you so angry before.' Moving carefully so you wouldn't be spotted if someone returned, you used your hand farthest from the kitchen to gently stroke the calf of their right leg. 'It made me... Nervous.'

***I'm sorry... I just didn't like how close he was to you when you woke up. He was practically breathing down your neck.**

'Now now, I think you may be exaggerating just a little Chara.'

 ***I am _not._ But fine, whatever, don't listen to me then. **Frowning slightly at their snippiness, you tried to decipher their tone as they turned their scowling face away before your eyes widened.

' _Oh._ ' They blinked, before looking back to give you a narrow-eyed look. Your lips twitched upward at the corners as you returned the look, unable to hide the dancing amusement in your eye.

***Huh?**

'Ohhhh... Heh, I see what's going on here~.' You had to force back the chuckles threatening to burst forth because it was  _way_ too late to hide the shit-eating grin that was stretching across your face. They eyed the sudden change in your expression with nervous suspicion.

***What? Why are you smiling like that? It's freaking me out...**

'Chara, you're not...'

*** _What?_ Not  _what?!_**

'You're not... Jealous, are you? That other people besides Mom are getting to interact with me?'

The following silence was all kinds of awkward.

They stared with wide eyes before glancing away with their features pinching up uncomfortably. ***....Nooooo...?**

'Oh my Sweet Anime King, you  _are!_ '

***I am _NOT!_**

'You so are!! Oh, you are so cute, that's why you were going off like that!'

***But I'm- No, that's not-!!**

'Precious little Chara is jealous of the skele-bros~!'

*** _Stop being_   _stupid!_ Why would I be jealous of people getting to talk to  _you?!_**

'Going tsundere on me now, are we~?'

 ***That's it, I'm _so_ done with you!** Biting your lip to keep from laughing out loud, you had to grab Chara in a subtle way to keep them from leaving, and they protested heavily as they tried to escape.  ***Let me go, woman!!**

'Don't be mad at me Chara, this is the first time this has happened to me, you don't know how happy you're making me right now!' You watched them struggle against your arms but instead pulled them close so you could nuzzle their face in spite of their angry sputtering. 'Chara, I know all of this is new and all... And you feel like that new people may take all of my attention... But you know that you're my first priority, right?'

 ***Liar....** The saltiness in their voice knew no bounds as they strained to turn their face away.  ***I'm just a spirit attached to your soul.**

'What you _are_ , grumpy tights, is the first family I've had in a long time.' The sincerity in your voice was what probably caused them to grow still before they sheepishly glanced towards your face. 'Spirit or not, you have feelings, and they're real to you so they're real to me. I wanted to explore and make friends; that's why we left the RUINS in the first place, remember? Now, I don't know Sans or Papyrus, but I know you and what you are is family. Understand?'

***.......**

'Chara?'

 ***.....Yeah. Okay. I'm sorry.** They released a deep sigh and rested their forehead on your shoulder, wrapping their arms around your waist as their bangs hid their eyes.  ***I get it... But I'm still not jealous.**

You giggled softly, your huge grin now eased into a small smile as you watched them sigh with a tender eye. 'Whatever you say Chara.'

Silence once again descended as the two of you enjoyed the peace of a resolved issue....

And then the front door slammed open.

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS RETURNED!" A yelp escaped you as you flinched in your seat, Chara gripping you tighter in a reflex as their gaze swung over to spot a familiar skelly-roll posing dramatically in the doorway as sparkles surrounded his entire lanky frame. You quickly dropped your arms before he could spot you, not wanting him to think you were just holding up your arms in a circle for no damn reason. Just in time too, because once he noticed you were awake he spun around to flash you a cheerful grin. "HUMAN! YOU ARE AWAKE! I HOPE IT WAS NOT I WHO WOKE YOU UP?"

"Oh, ah.... N-No, uh, I've been awake for a while now."

"WONDERFUL! BY THE WAY, I HAVE BROUGHT YOUR BELONGINGS!" You had to hold back your relieved sigh as he held out your duffle bag and the large backpack, and gave Chara a quick meaningful glance which caused them to sulkily remove themselves from your lap.

"Thanks so much Papyrus, I really-" Attempting to get up, your eyes widened in shock as your legs suddenly locked up on you and you collapsed to the ground as pain lanced through incredibly achy muscles. "ACKKK!!"

***Olivia!**

"HUMAN!" Tossing your bags onto the couch, he took a single quick stride and knelt down to where you laid sprawled on the floor, groaning as even any single twitch of movement was followed by your muscles violently disagreeing with it. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"Uff... K-Kinda regretting life right now, give me a minute..." Mentally steeling yourself for the backlash, you took a deep breath before forcing yourself to sit up with great difficulty causing a deep groan to burst from your mouth. You hunched over once you were finally sitting up straight. "Ugh, m-man I'm hurtin'..."

***That's what you get for dancing so hard without stretching first.**

'Hush you.'

"ERR... HUMAN, IF I MAY ASK, WHAT IS YOUR HP AT THE MOMENT...?" Blinking at the Latin dancing skeleton, you pulled out your MENU, remembering that you could see your amount of HP from there, and you weren't able to hide your wince.

"...Four out of twenty." His face seemed to fall at the low number before he brought up his hands and showed his palms- uh, carpals to you. "MAY I HAVE PERMISSION TO HEAL YOU?"

"Huh...? Well yeah, that'll probably help a lot." Gaining a happy 'Nyeh' in response, you huffed as your soul was brought out of your chest with a soft popping sound and watched in awe as green magic began to seep from his bony hands to swirl around the cartoony heart. The green moved to mingle with the streaks of pink surrounding it, the two complementary colors flirting with each other before your soul absorbed the magic. As it did, you could see the small hairline fractures in your soul suddenly reverse and disappear, the only cracks and tears remaining were the ones inflicted before you first fell Underground.

You had to admit, your stiff muscles loosened up some as some of the pain slowly eased from them. It wasn't as great as Toriel's healing was by any means, but it definitely made breathing easier at least.

"Ooh... That feels better Papyrus. Thanks." Papyrus stood once more after returning your soul to your body and offered you a hand. Even with the majority of your pain gone, you took it slow as you grasped his hand and hefted yourself back onto your feet. Chara grasped your hand as Papyrus gave you a thumbs(?) up.

"ANYTIME! I APOLOGIZE, I WAS NOT AWARE THAT I HAD... DAMAGED YOU SO. YOUR LOW LEVEL OF **H** O **P** E WAS RATHER WORRYING, TO SAY THE LEAST!" You stopped at the odd phrasing after dismissing your menu, before giving him a weird look.

"Hope...? What would hope have anything to do with it?"

"NOT 'hope' HUMAN, **H** O **P** E! THERE'S A _VERY_ BIG DIFFERENCE!" _Very_ big difference. Right. Like this whole thing wasn't  _very_ confusing. "HP IS AN ACRONYM FOR **H** O **P** E! IT SIGNIFIES HOW MUCH OPTIMISM A PERSON HAS IN ORDER TO LIVE! THE OLDER YOU ARE, THE MORE OPTIMISTIC YOU ARE, AND THE HARDER YOU PUSH YOURSELF TO FIND MEANING IN LIFE, THE MORE **H** O **P** E SOMEONE WILL GENERALLY HAVE."

....Huh.

"I'm guessing you have a lot of HoPe then...?"

"OF COURSE!" Nodding to yourself, you glanced back at your MENU, gazing at your STATS, which reminded you of a video game menu kinda like the things the Ocramid would summon. It had many things to it, and you were suddenly ashamed that it wasn't something you really paid attention to, despite being in the Underground for several months already. Toriel had been very informative when it came to magic, but sometimes you felt as though she avoided talking about some things or glossed over them for a reason. Chara would do the same. You could understand that, but knowledge was power in your opinion and you hated being ignorant as well.

Therefore, your Curiosity was now piqued.

But unfortunately, before you could ask any questions that were bubbling up in your mind, Sans promptly sauntered through the front door with his lazy grin. "oh hey bro. you're back."

'Easy Chara...' You crooned mentally as the spirit stiffened by your side and actually hissed at Sans' presence while Papyrus whirled around to face his brother.

"INDEED BROTHER! IT DID NOT TAKE ME LONG TO ACQUIRE HER BELONGINGS!" You gave Sans a confused look, looking back and forth between him and the kitchen where you last saw him disappear to. You hadn't seen him leave from there...

 ***Teleportation, remember Olivia?** _Oh yeah, that's right...._

"WHERE HAD YOU GONE SANS? I HOPE YOU DID NOT LEAVE THE HUMAN BY HERSELF WHILE SHE WAS ASLEEP!"

"nah. she was awake when i left, right kiddo?" You nodded once when the tall skeleton turned to you to confirm before Sans continued. "i just went out to get some cinnabunnies. apparently, the kid's a sucker for sweets." Out of thin air, he pulled out a few steaming pastries shaped like bunnies and held one out to you as he shuffled in your direction. Your mouth immediately began to water as the smell of sweet cinnamon began to fill the air and swiped it from his phalanges with a delighted squeal. "see?"

"YES, I DO." You ignored Papyrus' intense gaze on your face for the treat in your hands and began to nibble on a sweet ear blissfully as Chara threw their hands up in exasperation.

***You and sweets!**

'Ah yes, a match made in heaven~.' You playfully shot back, chewing at the glazed goodness with relish as Papyrus watched you curiously. "Mmm~. Thanks, Sans..."

"HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? THE SOUNDS YOU ARE MAKING SOUND PAINED. THE MAGIC IN THE CINNABUNNY IS SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!" You snapped out of your gluttonous high to give a worried Papyrus a confused look.

"Sounds...?" Looking over to Sans, you were greeted with a light blue blush covering his entire face and a too-tight grin, complete with a few droplets of sweat trickling down his skull and the white eye lights looking close to whisping away to nothing. Chara merely stood to the side looking as confused as Papyrus.

Fucking hell, you weren't making sensual sounding noises while you ate again were you?

"Oh, ah... No Paps, I just really like food. The way to my Soul is through my stomach as they say." Despite not knowing if that revised saying was valid through the cultural barrier between humans and monsters, you knew Papyrus got the idea has his animated skull lit up.

"AH, I SEE! YOU ARE A LOVER OF FINELY MADE CUISINE!" You nodded rapidly as you finished the treat before he grasped your hand, pulling you towards the kitchen as Sans remained frozen in his spot. "THAT IS PERFECT! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM AN EXCELLENT COOK AND PERVAYOR OF DELICACIES! I CAN PROVE SUCH TO YOU AS WE START OUR DATE!"

_Shit._

"You mean right now?"

"WHY OF COURSE! YOU ARE WELL AND ALREADY HERE, SO WE MIGHT AS WELL!"

_Double shit._

"heh. i might as well chaperone you, ya crazy kids." You looked back to see that Sans had already fallen onto the couch, watching the two of you with bright specters, though he was giving particularly  _you_ the biggest shit-eating grin you had ever seen.

 _And Sans was_ being _a shit._

"SANS, I AM HARDLY A BABYBONES!" Papyrus looked nonplussed, and with the distracting moment you had pulled your hand from Papyrus' gentle grasp and pulled him to a stop. This needed to be stopped.

"Err... No disrespect Paps, but maybe we shouldn't date so soon." He stopped and glanced down at you with the most adorably confused expression you had ever seen.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUMAN? WE ARE BOTH CONSENTING ADULTS, ARE WE NOT?" Oh, Stars. When will the suffering end?

"W-Well, you see... Um..." You could feel the burning stare land on your back from behind you and you realized immediately that it was the patented 'Overprotective Brother' look. How to say this as sweetly as possible...? "It's too soon to date b-because... We don't know enough about each other!"

.......

.............

***Not a bad save actually.**

"I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING HUMAN; WE KNOW PLENTY ABOUT EACH OTHER!" You pinned Papyrus with a disbelieving look, wondering just how much innocence was belied by his tall and slightly intimidating physique. "YOU ARE A HUMAN, A FOOD AND PUZZLE LOVER, AND ARE A FABULOUS DANCER! YOU EVEN FLIRTED WITH ME AND GAVE ME A GIFT TO SHOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE!"

Okay, while he did have a tiny point with the flirting thing, that was mostly out of desperation rather than true attraction. And a statement or two wasn't entirely accurate...

"But, that's not all that's to me Papyrus. And I don't know much about you either. For example, all I know about you is that you're a skeleton monster, you like puzzles and spaghetti, your brother is Sans, you're an awesome Latin dancer, and you want to be in the Royal Guard. Surely there's more to the Great Papyrus than five things, right?" Something inside you eased once you felt that piercing stare on your back lose its intensity, and Chara snickered as Papyrus flushed a light orange and began to stroke the back of his skull which elicited soft scraping sounds as a result. "Plus, we have only known each other for a day. So instead of dating, we should focus on being friends first."

"I DO SUPPOSE YOU HAVE A POINT ABOUT ME HUMAN, FOR I AM A VERY COMPLICATED INDIVIDUAL, BUT... WE ARE ALREADY FRIENDS! AND I HAVE ALREADY GAINED VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION FROM YOU THAT LETS ME KNOW YOU MEET MY STANDARDS!"

'Patience is a virtue, Olivia. Just be reasonable about this...' Thinking of what to say to kindly get your point across, an idea came to you. Sans knew your name. He kept calling you 'kid' or 'kiddo', but that seemed to be a result of habit. Papyrus, on the other hand... "Here Papyrus, let me ask you a very important question..." He came to instant attention leaning in towards you with curious eye sockets. "Since we met, you've just referred to me as 'Human'... Do you even know my name yet?"

..........

You had a feeling that not even Sans could back up his brother on that one.

".....N-NYEH... I-I'M AFRAID... NOT..." He gave you a super ashamed look and you quickly gave his humerus a comforting pat before he could start feeling down on himself.

"No need to feel guilty; all you did was answer honestly."

"BUT I MUST RECTIFY THIS IMMEDIATELY!" Grasping both of your hands in his, you blinked as he knelt down on one knee and you were very sure your bewildered expression was what caused both Chara and Sans to start chuckling to themselves. "HUMAN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MUST KNOW MY NEW FRIEND'S NAME!" You gave the tiniest of warm smiles as you looked at his earnest face.

"Olivia."

"OLIVIA." Somehow, the sound of the 'L' being rolled in your name by a talking skeleton just made you want to giggle at the pure strangeness of the situation. "IT IS AN... ODD NAME, BUT NO DOUBT A LOVELY ONE!"

Says the one named after a font.

"BUT THOUGH YOUR PREVIOUS STATEMENTS ARE CORRECT... YOU FLIRTED WITH ME!" Thinking quickly, you were proud to find that there was no hesitation in your next words.

"Just because someone flirts with you, Papy, doesn't exactly mean they're romantically interested in you... Sometimes people flirt because they might find you pleasing to the eye. Like... aesthetic beauty, you know? They appreciate it about you so they can't help but say something about it." You smiled as he stood once more, flushing a deep orange. "I mean, I can't exactly lie; you're pretty handsome."

 ***Papyrus has retreated into the safety of his hands.** There was no small amount of amusement in Chara's voice as the two of you watched him hide his face behind his two large skeletal hands, and you bit down on your bottom lip to keep from giggling. He was just being too cute!

"alright, alright, no need to turn my bro into a lamp." You nearly jumped as Sans' voice suddenly came from your side, scaring the daylights out of you. "though she has a point pap, maybe the dating thing is a bit too soon. you should get comfortable around each other first." Glancing over to Sans, you spotted the friendly form of his eternal grin pointed towards you, but his specters subtly searching your face told of something appraising and calculating.

Evaluating.

"P-PERHAPS YOU ARE CORRECT BROTHER..." You could spot dark eye sockets shyly peeking out through slender phalanges as the taller skeleton regarded you both. "I SUPPOSE WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER AS BEINGS FIRST."

**_THANK EVERY HOLY DEITY YOU KNEW!_ **

"sounds about right."

"Alrighty, since we have agreed on that." Trying not to sound too chipper about what had just transpired, you regarded them both with a congenial grin. "I'd rather not go into detail about super personal things about myself," You shot Sans a meaningful glance, "But I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have. But before we start with that... Do you mind if I take a shower? I'd like to change out of these dirty clothes..."

"oh, uh... head up the stairs and turn right, then walk straight down. that's where the bathroom is."

"Great, thanks." You hurried over to your duffle bag and grabbed it before making the trek upstairs, following what the punny skeleton had told you to reach the bathroom that was shielded from initial view.

***Olivia?**

'Yeah?'

***That was some impressive maneuvering.**

'Heh, thanks.' You couldn't help but preen a bit as you closed the bathroom door behind you, Chara fading to give you a bit of privacy. 'To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing.'

* * *

Let it never be said that Sans ever put anything above his bro; Papyrus was one of the people who brought consistent happiness and affection to his life. Well, make that the only person really.

Sure, Sans has some friends he can depend on. He's even had a few flings here and there, but it was never anything serious or fire-inducing. The only thing close to that was the crush he had on Tori but after the first few resets, he decided that it wasn't worth the pain or aggravation to constantly start over and rebuild a romantic relationship with someone who had never truly gotten over their broken soulmate-ship anyway.

Sans was attracted to her pretty laugh and mothering instincts. Her ability to pun with him and keep up was arousing in its own right.

But.

Toriel was an elegant monster who had centuries on him and had a certain decorum about her. She could charm as well as frighten a person with a single look. Sans had always felt like he couldn't really ever measure up to her as a partner. In one timeline where he had almost gotten everything he wanted, he wasn't able to bring himself to engage in a Bonding Dance with her. Imagine that! He couldn't even find it in himself to dance like he truly loved to anymore, because what was the point if it was all going to reset again?

It was almost as if he lost his identity as a Monster.

But the kid had up and thrown in the towel for  _some damn reason_ , and you were here instead.

Sans didn't  _want_ to feel good about you; you were an anomaly, you were new, there was just too many things about you that didn't make sense, and your mere presence had changed soooo much already. He didn't like change. He was used to acting accordingly when Frisk had carried out a particular series of actions in a certain order. It was nothing against  _you_ personally, he just didn't like how vulnerable the newness of your presence made him feel; what was he supposed to do if it turned out you were a sociopath? After all, you weren't a kid by any means, despite his nicknames.

He didn't want you here. You were a glitch in the system, something that could either be really good or really bad and he wasn't the most optimistic person in the first place.

He preferred Frisk over the constant jittery feeling of anxiety.

...So if that was the case, then why did he feel a little bit of jealousy as he watched you interact with his brother?

That... probably wasn't good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long lovelies.... I'm so, so sorry. T^T Forgive mmmmeeeee.........


	17. They Say Satisfaction Brings it Back...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, my lovelies~! Another update to satisfy you! A long one too! Enjoy!

Okay. So.

You were a Curious person.

As it has been stated before, Curiosity was your besetting sin. It had probably gotten you into a lot more trouble than you would have had without it. Case in point: Climbing a mountain and getting too curious about a large hollow hole in the ground.

But it was just something that you couldn't help! You loved to learn for one, and let it be said that it was useful for catching things people normally didn't see. And you were low-key salty about your analytical ways; Your best friend still didn't know about all of the dirt you had on her that you could use as blackmail, lest there was a need for friendly payback.

Seriously. It was more than once you had to use that stash on her. But anyway.

After that near-heavenly feel of hot water washing away all the stress and sweat of the day was over and you had gotten dressed in warm and comfy pajamas, you had wrapped up your now clean, wet hair in a towel (why these guys had shampoo was a mystery to you) and walked back downstairs with a relaxed sigh.

You were promptly laughed at by Sans who couldn't understand why you had a towel turban on your head. Even after explaining, he was still super amused at the sight you made and wouldn't stop making jokes about it until your hair was dry enough to lose the towel. He even commented on the fact that your bangs were still draped over your right eye, saying if your hair was wet then that should have been included with the rest of it.

At this point, you were fairly certain that whatever had happened for Sans to gain Chara's dislike had something to do with your bangs, and that made you a little irritable. You weren't sure if Sans could feel the power of Chara's glare, which burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, but you were positive that your unblinking stare had made him uncomfortable if his shifty specters were anything to go by.

Rude.

After you had freed him from your frosty blue eye, Papyrus had sprung from the kitchen saying that your words from earlier had struck a chord in him and that as he cooked 'Friendship Spaghetti' for the momentous occasion, he wished to learn more about you. You one-upped him by saying you would help him cook and that way you both could ask questions about each other.

Despite your expression's unwillingness to change, you had to admit that his enthusiasm was contagious.

And his way of cooking was... Interesting.

After seeing him literally pound tomatoes into the counter to start the sauce, you gently suggested that you could show him your recipe from the surface that you had made yourself while Chara chuckled away at the sight of small red splatters on your face. And you had  _just_ taken a shower too!

Cooking was also something you had to learn how to do, because your...  _abusers_ ('Not parents!' You had to remind yourself) didn't like to even see you eat, let alone cook for you, so you had to buy your own small amount of groceries and stash them at Hellena's place then cook for the two of you if you wanted a home-cooked meal.

Needless to say, you tried to stay out of that god-forsaken mansion for long periods of time.

With constant soft reminders peppered in between to let the pasta cook and not stir it so much, you stayed back as far as it was polite as you directed Papyrus how to cut some ingredients, your posture stiff as you bounced your leg rapidly. You noticed once you had backed away his motions slowed and he was considerate enough to soften his voice as to not startle you. You denied yourself the sight of the knife in his hand, keeping your eyes on just Papyrus' face as Chara sat beside you on the counter and rubbing soothing circles on your back.

Sans was also leaning against the doorway of the kitchen by this time, looking lazy and relaxed but you knew he was there to make sure you didn't have another breakdown.

"So Hu- Olivia," Papyrus caught himself as he glanced over at you with his cheerful grin, "Is There Anything You'd Like To Know About My Greatness?" Perking up slightly, you decided to start slow with your questions.

"Well... How old are you?"

You weren't exactly expecting the completely confounded look you gained in response. "I'm Sorry Human, But I Do Not Know What You Mean."

"i do." Both of you glanced over at Sans as he chuckled, then cracked open an eye socket to peek in your direction. "listen bud, monsters are a bit different than humans. we don't exactly count the years we live like you do because we have much longer lifespans. time doesn't exactly matter us."

......Ohhhh.

"THE LAZYBONES IS CORRECT!" You had jumped at the sudden volume in Papyrus' voice again and looked over to see he had placed the knife in the sink. That helped you to relax. "YOU WOULD PROBABLY BE ASTOUNDED BY THE SHEER NUMBER OF YEARS WE HAVE LIVED!"

"but for the sake of answerin', paps would be about twenty-one in human years."

No fucking way.

If that was the case, just how old was Toriel?!

"heh. that surprising or somethin'?" Sans snickered as if he knew what was wrong, tiny white ovals gazing at your expression.

"....That means you're both older than me. That is so not fair." You were whining yes, but that didn't mean Chara had to laugh at the look on your face. Little brat. "Eldest by how many years...?"

"in human years, about five."

"AND HOW OLD ARE YOU HUMAN?" You tried not to pout as you began to carefully drain the water out of the spaghetti pot, grumbling. Papyrus had to pick you up so you could reach the sink.

"....I'm twenty and some change. I think. I was in the RUINS for several months after I first fell. I'm not exactly sure how long, though." You placed the pot back on the stove after being put back down before taking your iPhone out of your pocket and frowning at the lit screen. "If I had reception, I would be able to know for sure, but my phone from the surface can't get reception down here."

"WOWIE, THAT'S A PHONE?!" Papyrus crowded close to look at the contraption in your hand and even Sans looked interested as he perked up and shuffled over to look curiously. "IT IS SO THIN! AND IT'S JUST A SMALL RECTANGLE!"

"Oh yeah, it's considered advanced compared to how phones used to look..." You thought back to the block/flip phone in your duffle bag and felt that if you could sweat drop right now, you would. "But they're pretty sensitive... And you need reception to do any of the fun things on it."

"EXTRAORDINARY!"

"but why keep it if you can't do everything you want with it?" Glancing down at Sans, you could see a small glimmer of fascination in those white pinpricks, his phalanges twitching only slightly as if he was itching to get his hands on the electronic.

Interesting.

"Because of my music on there. I don't need any reception to listen to my playlists." At the soft, fond tone in your voice, he looked up at you and his eye sockets widened slightly at the small smile on your face. "I really love to listen to music. It's calming, no matter how I'm feeling. Plus I'm a dancer, so it's best to know a bunch of different songs to dance to, right?"

"huh.... well, that's fair." He nodded slowly, unaware of a ghost aggressively glaring daggers through his skull as he took a single step closer to you while Papyrus went to check on the sauce. "hey, do ya mind if i...?" Gesturing towards the device, he watched as you hesitated slightly before carefully placing it in his outstretched hand.

"Please be careful and please don't drop it, it's pretty fragile."

"i got it, i got it." He waved away your nervous fluttering before curiously turning it over in his bony hands. The screen went black, and he gave a soft grunt. "so uh, how does it work? it only has one button." Trying not to giggle, you showed him the touch screen and after both you and Chara sadistically enjoyed his struggle of his bony fingers not being able to do anything, you watched with awe as a fluorescent blue pad began to glow underneath each finger and he quickly gained access that way.

"Magic is _so_ awesome."

"jealous?"

"Incredibly so." You admitted with absolutely no shame, Sans chuckling as Chara gave you a sympathetic pat on the back. "So, you're a techie?" He flinched slightly before flashing you an 'I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about' grin.

"what makes you say that kid?"

"You have an observant, calculating look in your eye like you're trying to figure out how it works."

"well, we don't have phones like this down here. anybody would be trying to figure it out." You rose a silent brow at his evasiveness before crossing your arms.

"Perhaps, but not everybody would look at it with the same familiarity and fascination that you seem to consider it with." Your eye narrowed slightly as he quickly glanced away before he mumbled.

"m'not 'fascinated' with it..."

"Oh? Well, I'll take it back then." Plucking the phone from his phalanges and holding it above his head, you had to hold back a triumphant smile as he looked at his empty hands in shock before giving the device a sheepish, longing glance as he reached out for it.

"c'mon kid, that ain't fair..."

"OLIVIA, THE SAUCE IS FINISHED! SHALL WE FIX OURSELVES A PLATE NOW?" Looking back towards Papyrus, you nodded in response.

"Sure Paps, I'm coming." Turning back towards Sans, you lowered your phone back into his hands, but as he grabbed it, you lowered yourself to whisper where his ear would be. "I understand if it's a sore issue, but lying to me about yourself isn't going to help you if you're trying to learn about me." You stood up straight once more, seeing his face flushed a light blue and eye sockets almost completely dark before you turned around to head over to where Papyrus waited. "Just saying."

As you stuck your hand out subtly for a high five from a cackling Chara, you ignored the taken gaze that Sans was giving  _you_ and not the device in his hand.

'pretty _and_ intelligent...' Sans thought to himself as he robotically turned around and began to head towards the couch with a blank expression, gripping the phone in his hand tightly.

'dear asgore, i don't think i can stop this...'

* * *

Chara, not trusting Sans, stationed themselves by the doorway of the kitchen and watched the bonehead carefully, completely prepared to snitch if it looked like he was looking at something you wouldn't want him to see. With the sauce almost finished at this point, you had tossed in a few more spices before mixing it thoroughly with a careful eye. Peaceful and companionable quiet rested for a little while as you made sure the noodles weren't slimy or burnt (like Papyrus insisted they should be as all his previous dishes were that way). He was pouting a little bit as you had confiscated a tube of glitter that he had actually tried to _dump into the fucking sauce_ and when he asked why (read: whined), you had told him that humans couldn't digest glitter.  _Who the fuck could if the glitter wasn't explicitly made to be edible?!_

Despite Papyrus' many attempts to get rowdy, you had successfully prevented all potential disasters.

That didn't mean he didn't have anything to say about it, though.

"I AM A LITTLE SKEPTICAL OF THIS RECIPE H- OLIVIA. COOKING SHOULD BE EXPRESSED WITH FIERY PASSION! YOU HAD ME CUT INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE RATHER THAN SMASH THEM AND YOU EVEN STOPPED ME FROM SETTING FIRE TO THE STOVE!"

Yes. He was actually arguing with you about this. Apparently, he was not at all worried about the hazards of a raging fire, such as the entire house burning down.

"While passion is... nice, I learned to make food with.... Warm love rather than fiery passion Papy. I let my tender affection and care flow into my cooking." Well, looks like your improv skills had not faded a single bit. Papyrus totally bought it, albeit skeptically about the taste of the food as you began to place pasta noodles on the three plates that he was holding out towards you, then ladled sauce on top of them.

"JUST A MOMENT FRIEND! THERE IS ONE THING MISSING!" Oh god, what now? He bounded towards the incredibly tall sink that rested in the far corner of the kitchen and threw open the door underneath it with his usual energy-

And promptly got jumped by a familiar little white dog holding a gigantic bone in his mouth. "WAUGHH!!"

 ***What the-** The dog, succeeding in knocking Papyrus to the ground with a loud thud, obnoxiously licked all over his face before grabbing his prize from earlier and speeding past you as you watched with a wide eye.

Sans appeared in the doorway soon after had Papyrus hit the floor with a frenzied look, sweating and-  _did his left eye just flash blue?_ "papyrus, wha-?!"

"CATCH THAT MEDDLING CANINE!" As lazy as he was, Sans apparently had quick reflexes as he lurched to the side just as the dog went barreling towards him. However, as you, Sans and Chara watched frozen in place with dumbstruck expressions, this left the dog the chance to escape and it took no chances as it headbutted the front door open and dashed out. "CURSES!"

.........

***.................**

_WAH-WAH-WAAAAHHHH_

And heaven forbid Sans passes up a comedic opportunity of any kind.

"SANS!" Your head turned mechanically from the door and back towards the brothers to see Papyrus attempting to wipe off the icky slobber from his face, stomping his foot at a chuckling Sans who had a trombone pressed to his teeth. "STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC!"

You would ask how it was possible for him to play the brass instrument but you were very sure the answer would be-

***Maaaaaagic~.**

Thank you so much for the cosign, Chara dear.

"i'll take  _note_ of that bro, but perhaps you should  _tone_ it down a bit." The smug bony bastard was looking at you now as if waiting for a reaction to make fun of. "the kid is lookin' a little  _flat_ at the moment."

"CEASE WITH YOUR PUNS! THAT IS PROBABLY WHAT HAS CAUSED HER TO FREEZE-" The skelly-roll suddenly turned to you with a slightly weary look. "YOU...  _ARE_ A FEMALE, CORRECT? ARE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE WITH BEING REFERRED BY YOUR CIS-GENDER?"

Awww, how sweet and considerate... You loved monsters, no doubt about it.

"Yeah, I'm a girl. Don't worry, I'm comfortable with my gender. Proud of it, in fact." You chuckled as you finally twitched out of your stupor. "If that changes, though, I'll be sure to tell you."

"OH, GOOD! I WOULD HATE TO OFFEND YOU!" Giving him a smile, you then turned to the shorter skeleton who seemed to brighten up as your eye landed on him, still holding the trombone in his hands.

"Do you really know how to play that or do you just keep it around for comedic relief and the chance for a pun?" His grin widened to extreme levels as he winked.

"course i know how to play. a skeleton's favorite instrument is the trom _bone_  after all."

"SANS!"

"Really? I thought it was the Xylo- _bone._ " You replied with an innocent shrug, biting your lip to hold back laughter as Sans laughed loudly and Papyrus threw up his hands looking absolutely betrayed.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE SANS! YOU'VE CORRUPTED OUR NEW FRIEND WITH YOUR JOKES!"

"you gettin'  _saucy_ with me bro?" With a thoroughly done expression, you watched with immense amusement as Papyrus literally picked Sans up and stomped out of the kitchen, tossing him not-so-gently onto the couch before coming back with a huff.

"Aww Pap, looks like you're  _sans_ a brother now." Your lips curled into a smile as his eye twitched before he actually laughed, nearly covering the loud snort followed by deep hysterical laughter coming from the living room. With a quick glance towards Chara, it became clear that they were trying extremely hard not to smile.

"SEE SANS? PUNS CAN BE FUNNY, THEY JUST HAVE TO BE CLEVER!" With his trademark 'Nyeh heh heh!', he handed you a plate of spaghetti and a fork before carrying the other two himself before strolling back out towards the couch. "BUT ENOUGH OF THAT! DINNER IS READY!" You sprinkled a whole bunch of shredded cheese on top of your spaghetti first before quickly following.

Don't judge, cheese on spaghetti is flippin' delicious.

Seeing as they didn't have a table to eat at, the three of you squeezed together on the couch with you in the middle and Chara seated on the floor between your legs. You mixed in the cheese with your fork and waited for it to melt while holding off on eating to watch Papyrus and Sans take their first bite.

Papyrus, probably expecting for it to be at the very most mediocre, had frozen at his first bite. Starting to get worried, you were about to ask if he was alright before literal orange sparkles started to shine in his eyes and around his skull.

"WHY OLIVIA, THIS IS SUBLIME!!" You sighed in relief as he launched into a giddy rant of how he would forever now use love instead of passion to cook with to make sure each dish would be even more marvelous than the last. You couldn't help but feel proud of his obvious approval.

"heh. wow. not bad kiddo." Looking over to Sans, you saw that the food on his plate was already half gone. He winked up at you as his grin slipped into something more genuine. "but, it could use a little somethin'... ah, i know." Setting his plate on his lap and digging through his sweater pocket, your jaw dropped as he pulled out a bottle of ketchup and squeezed a dollop of the red condiment onto the rest of his food. "there we go."

"There is literally a ton of tomato sauce already on the noodles Sans!"

"nothin' wrong with a little more." You turned away with an eye-roll as Chara huffed with disgust, Papyrus shaking his head in disappointment before flicking on the large flat screen against the opposite wall.

For about twenty minutes, you were shown the wonders of an overgrown-calculator-looking robot making horribly gaudy foods doused in glitter and sequins while Papyrus watched enthralled-now the glitter thing was making a whole lot more sense-and bantered with the skelly-roll about what was on top of your own food. ("WHY DO YOU NOT TOP YOUR SPAGHETTI WITH GLITTER?" "It would make me sick, and I already have cheese on it." "WHY CHEESE?" "It tastes good. You should try it." "I AM NOT SO SURE..." "you  _cheddar_ believe her bro." "SANS NO! WHY?!" "no need to be so  _sharp_ pap _._ " "AGHH!")

You were having a blast.

Unable to finish all the food on your plate and with Chara begging you not to throw it away (after all they tasted what you could and thought your cooking was delicious), you pulled out your dimensional MENU and placed the plate in there for later. About to dismiss it, your STATS caught your eye.

 

**"Olivia"**

**LV 1**

**HP 20/20**

**ATK 55     EXP: 0**

**DEF 60 (84)    NEXT: 10**

**MAGIC: 124 (692)**

**PRIMARY STYLE: Ballet/Hip Hop**

**SECONDARY STYLE: Well-Rounded**

**WEAPON: NONE**

**ARMOR: Comfy Sweater**

**GOLD: 3087**

 

Hm....

What exactly was all of this?

"FRIEND, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" You startled slightly as the reedy voice broke you out of your mile long stare and realized both brothers plus Chara were watching you with worried expressions. "YOU HAVE BEEN STARING OFF INTO SPACE FOR ABOUT A GOOD FIVE MINUTES NOW."

Whoops.

"Sorry, I'm fine, but uh..." Giving your STATS another once over, an idea came to you. "Could you answer some more questions for me, maybe?"

"I WOULD BE ELATED TO GRACE YOU WITH MORE INFORMATION AND WISDOM! WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS?"

"I haven't really paid attention to my STATS very much until today... I don't know much about it. You told me HP is an acronym for HoPe... Is everything in STATS an acronym? What does ATK and DEF mean?" ATK and DEF seemed pretty obvious seeing as you were a gamer girl. Man, you missed video games as a matter of fact... You had some hand-held consoles in your bag, but you had already beaten all of the games you had and it was boring to play them over and over again without long breaks in between them.

"ATK STANDS FOR **A** BILITY **T** O **K** ILL WHILE DEF STANDS FOR **D** EATH **E** VASION **F** ACTOR." ......What.

You tossed him a wide-eyed look and your confusion must have been thoroughly palpable because he hesitated slightly before elaborating. "YOUR **ATK** IS DEPENDENT ON YOUR MARTIAL ABILITIES. IF YOU WISH TO... KILL, IT WOULD BE EASIER WITH HIGHER **ATK** , WHICH MAKES YOUR ATTACKS STRONGER. YOUR **DEF** IS DEPENDENT ON HOW STURDY YOU ARE. IF YOU WISH TO SURVIVE, YOU WOULD GENERALLY LAST LONGER AND BE HARDER TO... DEFEAT IF YOU HAVE HIGH **DEF** , EVEN IF YOU WERE STRUCK OVER AND OVER."

.....For some reason, those facts sent a chilling shiver down your spine.

"Um... What would be considered high for either?"

"I AM NOT SURE IF IT WOULD BE ANY DIFFERENT FOR HUMANS, BUT FOR MONSTERS, IT DEPENDS ON YOUR AGE AND HOW MUCH YOU TRAIN YOUR MAGIC. I WOULD SAY... ANYTHING OVER 50 FOR EITHER WOULD BE PRETTY HIGH." Glancing over to your MENU again, your expression quickly turned conflicted.

"I'm... I'm glad my DEF is high, in that case... My ATK is high, from all of the uh... 'fighting lessons' I took on the surface but... I don't... want to hurt anyone." Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Chara giving you a bright admiring look as Papyrus gave you a clap on the back. "YOU NEED NOT TELL ME, HUMAN! YOUR GENUINE NATURE SHINES THROUGH YOUR DANCE AND OTHER ACTIONS!" You looked away, hoping your cheeks hadn't flushed from his sincere words but even still you could see the considering look his brother was giving you.

What else should you ask about...? Gold was pretty damn obvious, as was Style; while you preferred Hip-Hop and Ballet, your purpose in college was to learn every dance you could. And you were relatively good at it. Looking down at the blue sweater you were wearing over your pajamas, you pulled at the collar with a hum.

"This counts as armor?"

"yeah. it sounds silly, i know, but some materials in clothing block magic better than others, especially if it has magic woven into it." Sans answered, shrugging as he continued to fiddle with your phone. "where'd you get that sweater?"

"I've had it since I first fell down. It's my favorite one."

"so no magic then. what material is it made of?"

"Um..." Peeking at the tag at the bottom, you cocked your head to the side. "It's a cotton mixture."

"cotton's a pretty good magic insulator. it blocks it pretty well too. wouldn't be surprised if it has a high DEF that adds to what you already have." Trying to see what he was talking about, you noticed the number in parentheses and subtracted the original number from it.

"Is twenty-four high?"

"FOR A NON-MAGICAL PIECE OF CLOTHING, ABSOLUTELY!" You nodded in understanding before your eye landed on the next thing... Literally.

"What does NEXT mean?" You were unaware of Sans stopping in his swiping motions for a quick second before continuing. But you did notice Papyrus' slightly nervous hum and how Chara clutched your leg a bit closer.

" **NEXT** IS NOT AN ACRONYM PER SAY... IT REPRESENTS HOW MUCH **EXP** YOU ARE AWAY FROM RAISING YOUR  **LV**."

LV... Why did that particular one sound familiar...?

Feeling a light tug on your pants' leg, you discretely glanced down at Chara who was looking up at you with a 'Hoe don't do it' expression. You almost didn't ask.

But you were Curious...

Welp.

YOLO.

"Then... What does EXP and LV mean?"

Chara threw their head back and their hands up and cried out  **'Oh My God!'** at your blatant refusal to listen to them. Papyrus squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. Sans' eye-sockets went completely black.

Oops.

"you askin' a whole lotta questions kid." You mentally patted yourself on the back at not flinching as Sans looked at you with those void-like sockets and a grin that was too tense to be genuine.

"I'm just curious." You murmured in reply, trying to maintain what you think was eye contact. "If I'm going to live down here, then I want to know. Especially if it's bad, that way I can avoid it."

He watched you quietly, Papyrus' nervous 'nyeh's sprinkled softly in the background before the pinpricks of white light slowly faded back into view. His tense expression relaxed as they flickered down towards your chest for a quick second before he shrugged.

"makes sense, i guess." The specters flicked back up towards your face once more. "let's just say... be glad that yours are the lowest they can be."

Question not answered.

But message received.

* * *

After that awkwardness, you were not at all surprised by the fact that Papyrus had used the excuse of being tired to escape the situation. What you were surprised with was that Sans got up saying he would read him to sleep. Apparently, that was a nightly routine for them.

Adorable.

Papyrus had handed you a pillow and blanket and cheerfully bid you goodnight before bounding up the stairs, Sans following him after tossing you a wink and a quick 'night, kiddo.' With them gone, you stretched out to lay over the couch cushions and stared at the ceiling, having already put away your phone. Chara was squished between you and the back of the couch, but wasn't complaining as they cuddled up to your side.

'What a day...'

***Hey... Olivia?**

'Yeah?'

 ***Promise me something.** Looking down, your eye made contact with a pair of crimson ones. You nodded.

'Anything for you Chara. What is it?'

 ***Please... Make sure your LV and EXP stays the same.** Your brow rose a bit in response, your expression contorting a bit in confusion.

From everyone's reactions towards your question, you were gathering that those two things weren't what you had initially thought they were.

But what did it  _mean?!_

Deliberating slightly as they watched you with an intense look, you bit your lip before sighing. 'This is really important to you, isn't it?'

***Extremely.**

'....Alright, Chara.' You wrapped an arm around their torso and held them closer, leaning your head down to kiss their forehead. 'I still have no idea what it means, but if it means that much to you... I promise.'

***.......Thank you.**

'Like I said. Anything for you. Goodnight Chara.'

***Goodnight Olivia.**

With that, you both fell asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn. Promptly 300 more hits within a single day. I am filled with Determination.
> 
> Plot. It has been hinted at. A teeny tiny bit. I wonder if you can see it?


	18. ...So Did Curiosity Truly Kill the Cat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of explanations in case any of you were confused about the logic in the story.
> 
> Finally, some movement in the ship. But it DOES say this is a slow burn in the tabs. 
> 
> This whole chapter is sorta Sans point of view by the way.

Three weeks.

Three. Whole. Freaking. Weeks.

That's how long you had been rooming with them. Sans had been keeping track.

It was the longest that any human (that he had seen at least) had stayed in Snowdin. He would say in one general area, but you had already made it known that you had stayed in the RUINS for several months.

You had become friends with the bunny sisters that ran the Inn and the Shop. You had become a personal favorite out of Grillby's list of patrons (you went there rather often). Papyrus spoke highly of you whenever it was safe to; even if you were well liked, it was still dangerous to outright say you were human in public. The local kids liked to rope you into their little snowball fights. You had to regularly dodge questions about your origin and requests to dance because monsters were so excited to be around you.

You would go out on your own sometimes, and just wander around the forest for  _no apparent reason._

And you were driving him _insane_.

Not to say that you were a rude guest; you were nowhere near a horrible roommate. You cleaned up after yourself, did chores around the house (which _he_ didn't even do, and it was HIS house), wouldn't intrude on their business, and respected their private spaces. As curious as you were, you were also polite.

But that wasn't what was irritating him.

No, what was driving him absolutely  _fucking crazy_  was that within the three weeks you had been living with him and his brother, he gained no valuable info about what happened to Frisk, if the Resets were over, and more importantly, YOU.

He had been subtle about his digging; He'd slip in little sly comments about time and little kids during conversations to see if you'd react strangely to them, because he realized you were very good at reading in between the lines. But every single time he would gain a genuinely confused look in response and occasionally a question if what he said was supposed to be a joke. It had happened so many times that even Papyrus was starting to notice his probing.

But to be fair, there hadn't been a single reload ever since you had been Underground, so there was a fair chance you had no idea about the time anomalies. It was also incredibly possible that you didn't know Frisk; just because _you_ fell down this timeline didn't mean you had any connections to  _them_ or the demon child that followed them everywhere.

And yet, while that had a huge role with his current uneasiness, that wasn't the worst part.

He hadn't the foggiest idea about who you were as a person (besides how damn quiet you were), or what exactly happened for you to hate the surface so much. He only had the vague idea that your biological family was a bunch of assholes, you couldn't stand the sight of knives or anything closely resembling them, you were hiding something under your bangs, and you had a strong aversion to fighting.

While it informed him that you didn't exactly have the best life, that simply wasn't enough for him. He knew a mask when he saw it. Hell, he had seen that mask off, though you didn't know he would watch you sleep occasionally. (Don't look at him like that, it was kind of hard to sleep through the night with such an anomaly sleeping on his couch downstairs, that was the _only_ reason.)

What confused him was that you didn't go around broadcasting that you were an extremely damaged individual in order to get attention; in fact, you went to great lengths to convince people you were the exact opposite. It was almost astonishing to see, and that was coming from  _him_. You didn't  _want_ sympathy or pity. You just wanted to see those around you content and happy.

He believed it was because of that reason you didn't talk about yourself much. He was very much the same.

But he wasn't satisfied.

He wanted to know more. That little teaser of exposition on your arrival sure as hell wasn't enough. And while some locals managed to get little interesting tidbits about you, he had not. Granted, that was kinda his fault seeing as he was slightly standoffish with you, but other people usually didn't notice when he was... down, for lack of a better word. Before you came along, the sole owner of that ability was Grillby, and that was only because he had known Sans for so long. He was not at all prepared for the sense of vulnerability that came with someone unknown merely waltzing into his life and was able to read him like it was a fucking talent; That's why he was a bit distant when it came to you.

The one person who managed to find out the most about you was, unsurprisingly, Papyrus. The two of you had gotten incredibly close the past three weeks, and because of that, he had found out an ugly fact about himself.

He was jealous.

Jealous of his own sweet, innocent brother.

Over a  _woman._

_What the hell was **wrong** with him?_

Let the record show that you had not made a single romantic move towards anyone, least of all Papyrus. Papyrus had not done so either after your deflection of his date idea, but the two of you were still strangely close. Papyrus had made an actual effort to tone down his destructive tendencies-courtesy of Undyne-in the kitchen and adapt your way of cooking. You listened without fail every time he talked about a puzzle he was inventing and didn't say a thing when he went overboard with them. Whenever the two of you talked, the two of you always looked like you were enjoying yourselves and-get this-he actually laughed at some of your jokes. You had even agreed to train with him when Undyne canceled on him!

He had trouble convincing himself that it was purely because he didn't have any information on you and NOT because Papyrus seemed to always put a smile (however small) on your face and make you laugh.

It was incredibly difficult just to try and put that ugly green feeling into words because he had never  _felt_ it to this extreme. It wasn't like you belonged to him, so why the hell did it even matter?

.......

Why did it?

Perhaps he was obsessed. He was sure this was the very definition of obsession. He was just so _aware_ of you. Aware of the faintest twitches in your expression and body language. How your eye would either dull or glisten according to your mood. How you carried that blue sweater of yours everywhere and on the rare occasions you didn't have it, you would titter around nervously. How you always wore things that completely covered your arms and legs. How when you talked to Toriel on the phone, your voice would soften and you would smile fondly. How you would just randomly space out and make soft, irregular noises as if you were talking to yourself.

How sometimes your eye would flit around aimlessly or focus on an empty space as though you could see something he couldn't.

He was now understanding what you had said once. Once you were made aware of a topic, you hated to be ignorant about it. And as one of the former assistants to a certain scientist, he knew how someone like him could get absolutely hung up about this until he knew absolutely everything there was to know.

And something was telling him there was a lot to know about you.

....But he had a plan.

Not too long ago, when he had gotten desperate enough to actually ask Papyrus for more information when his brother let it slip that you liked to draw, he had given Sans an incredibly amused look before suggesting something.

"IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT HER," His brother replied with a chuckle, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK HER?"

He had sort of disregarded the idea at first because he just didn't think it would be that easy. You just had a latent talent for reading people; he believed you would know his intentions almost immediately.

But you had sort of relaxed compared to the first few days you had been around and, at this point, he was at the end of his rope.

He knew you had nothing to do today. Papyrus was off training with Undyne. So now here he was at his sentry station near the RUINS and trying to work up the nerve to press the call button next to your phone number on his phone. That ancient phone that Toriel gave you didn't even have texting, so he  _had_ to call.

All he had to do was press the button and ask you to come down to his station to talk.

Easy-peasy.

.........

....Then why was it so damn difficult to do?! His thumb had been hovering over the button for a full three minutes!

'come on sans... it's not like you're asking her on a date or anything, just press the damn button...' With no one around, people couldn't see the actual grimace on his face as his specters stared at the screen of his phone. 'if you learn enough about her, maybe this damned obsession will go away.' With the power of wishful thinking, he finally pressed the call button and steeled himself in case he got the tortuous voice-mail.

_Rrring, Ring...._

_Rrring, Ring...._

_Rrri- Click!_

"Hello? Olivia here." The soft lilt to your voice had sent an automatic trickle of magic down his spine.

"h-hey kiddo!" Damn it, why was he so nervous?

"Oh, hey Sans." While he liked the informality of your words, he ultimately hated the subtly guarded tone that came with them. "What's up?"

"nothin' much... whatcha up to?"

"Chillin' like a villain on this couch of yours. Been lazy today." He chuckled softly; you were almost as lazy as him sometimes. "And you?"

"bored. a human like you comin' along doesn't happen often. not much happens down here."

"How would you know if you're asleep most of the time?" He couldn't help but grin at the light teasing tone. This he liked.

"hey, no need to keep _ribbin'_ me pal. i do my share of  _skulking_ around here."

"I think I'll need to see you do that a  _femur_ times before I believe you, dude."

"heh, f-funny you should say that actually..." He could feel sweat beading on his brow indent. "there was somethin' i wanted to talk to you about... howza'bout you take a little stroll and come visit me at work?" Hopefully that didn't sound too ominous or strange.

"You down by the RUINS door?"

"yep."

"Well I mean, we're on the phone right now. You can't tell me what you need to tell me now?"

Of course you would ask that. Why didn't he see that coming? "w-well this is a thing that is probably better said... face to face."

"...Huh." Why? Why were you so suspicious of just  _him?_ Why had no one else been subjected to your cautious ways? "So you're telling me that you want me to walk all the way down there in the freezing cold just so you could talk to me about something that you _could_ tell me over the phone."

".....yeeeeeeesssss?"

"Aww, are you  _bonely_ Sans?" Boy howdy, here we go.

"kid, no. i'm bein' serious."

"Gasp!" Did you really just say the word gasp? "Sans being serious?! The world must be ending."

Sans had a morbidly amusing thought about how you had no idea how right you would be if you were a murderer. "very funny bud. you gonna come or what?"

"Gah, but that requires effoooort~!" Your whining would have made him chuckle if it wasn't so frustrating at the moment. "That means I have to get up from this warm, comfy couch and walk out into the frigid air... How can you subject me to such a horrible fate?"

Stars. Why were you being so infuriating? "you're doing this. you're really doing this to me right now."

"I'm just sooo comfortable, though... Plus, if you really wanted to talk face to face, you could just teleport over here."

"and leave my post? i'm actually workin' here, unlike you, ya mooch." Fuck. That did not come out right at all; wasn't he supposedto be _giving_ a reason for you to come skipping his way?

"Well buh-scuse you, ya hypocritical jackass. This is coming from the guy who sleeps and practices knock-knock jokes at the entrance to the RUINS rather than do his job." And unsurprisingly, he immediately got called out. Damn, you sure could dish it.

"i'll admit, i completely deserved that." Getting merely a grunt in response, he realized he was losing you and decided it was time for desperate measures. "c'mon kid, please come down? i'll beg if i have to, this is really important."

Nerve-wracking silence rung for a few maddening seconds before he heard the sweetest words he could have possibly heard at that moment.

"If you're willing to beg for it, then I guess..."

Success!

"g-great! yeah, t-that's... awesome." _smooth sans. way to make her feel comfortable about coming down here._ "so uh... i'll see ya when you get down here?"

"Guess so. I'll try to hurry up. Bye Sans."

"later kiddo."

_Click..._

......

Ooookay, so that could have gone better. There was no way that could have possibly been even more awkward than it was, but at least you were coming down.

Now he just had to wait for you to get here.

...........

Well shit, he was getting bored already.

* * *

All that trouble of trudging through the snow, trying not to slip on your ass while crossing planes of ice, ignoring groups of Ice Caps, and dealing with the oily annoyance known as JERRY just because the bony bastard had asked you to come down in order to talk about something 'really important'...

And he was asleep.

If looks could kill, your glare would have made each individual dust particle of his combust into a million pieces.

Well, you weren't leaving until you got some answers on why he made you come out here! No one could just drag you out of a warm comfy place for no damn reason!

But it could take ages for him to wake up...

 ***Hey Olivia! I have an idea!** Glancing to the side as Chara faded into view, your brow rose at their mischievous looking smile. Chara, while not being as hostile towards Sans as before, still wasn't a huge fan of him and liked to prank him by moving things in his general vicinity to freak him out.

While hilarious, their current expression was worrying.

'Oh?' They leaned in close to whisper into your ear, and as they spoke, you could feel your lips stretching to match their grin. 'Sometimes, I adore how your devious little mind works.'

***Heh. Come on, let's get to work.**

* * *

Sans would be proud to say that he could usually sleep through anything he was used to. Loud noises weren't very effective.

The sound of breaking plates in the kitchen when Papyrus cooked couldn't disturb him. Undyne's righteous shouts of fury didn't even make him twitch. Hell, even being picked up and shouted at wouldn't wake him up.

Here he was sleeping at his post, his arms making excellent pillows for his weary skull as he waited for the object of his obsessions to show. It probably hadn't been long after he called you that he had fallen asleep.

........

Something brushed against his nose indent.

"mmf..." He wrinkled it in annoyance, his eyes clenched and he huffed to try and make whatever was tickling him go away. It didn't really work; whatever it was continued to irritate his nose indent, and actually sped up as if it was _intending_ to be a bother. He lazily lifted a hand to swat away the offender.

Finally, the annoying thing disappeared and he began to groggily shift back into his nap... 

When suddenly, through the sleepy haze, he hears a voice.

"Knock knock."

Oh. That was a nice voice. It was soft and sweet sounding. It sounded familiar for some reason...

So, true to his nature, he answered.

"mmm... who's there...?"

"Iran." The pretty voice was rather soothing. He wanted to hear more of it.

"..iransss who...?"

"Iran all the way over here to see you and you're asleep! Wake up!!" Ooh. And it was humorous too. He could appreciate that.

"heh... s'agood one..." He mumbled as he buried his skull into his arms again to escape the chill of the air-that truthfully he could just ignore if he wanted to-and didn't even hear the irritated huff that was caused by the dismissive gesture. It was quiet for a little while as he relaxed again.

In his daze, he hardly felt his arms gently being moved away from his face.

...Though he definitely felt the sudden freezing shock to his system as it literally impacted with his front of his skull.

"aagh, what the f-!?" He lurched out of his sleep with a sputter, nearly falling off the wooden bench as he flailed his arms to keep from tipping over. "shit that's cold!" Just barely keeping himself upright, he hunched over the wooden counter with a deep sigh before trying to scrub away the melting snow from his eye sockets.

.....He heard something snicker.

"wha...?" Able to eliminate the danger of ice water trickling into the black pits in his face, he moved his arm away from his sockets with an annoyed grin, ready to let loose his usual passive-aggressiveness on the jerk who just decided it was funny to wake him up by lobbing a snowball at his face.

Imagine his surprise when his eyes landed on your face a mere six inches away from his, amusement plain as day in your silver-blue eye.

"Sup?"

............

He mentally applauded his self-control, knowing that if he was a tad less placid he just might have yelped or, even worse, sent a bone flying in your direction.

That wouldn't have ended well.

".....hey kid." He exhaled a shaky, steadying breath, shifting a hand to run it slowly down his face. "um... do me a favor mkay? ...never do that again."

"Never do what again? Waking you up by throwing a snowball into your face or staring at you creepily until you notice me?"

"both would be ideal."

"I can do the latter but not so much the first one." You had the smuggest of neutral smirks on you face as you leaned against the sentry counter; he'd have to ask for pointers on how exactly you could accomplish that paradox. "I know it's a long walk from your house to here, but you asked me to come over here and you're a hard person to wake up. Drastic measures were needed." He promptly tossed you an irritated look. "Don't look at me in that tone of voice Skels, you know damn well I'm right."

"you are, but i don't think that justifies what you did exactly."

"In that case, consider it payback for the 'mooch' remark." He paused slightly, and you gained a triumphant grin in response. Time to switch tactics.

"how can you  _look_ at someone in a  _tone of voice?_ "

"Dunno. How are you able to talk without actually opening your mouth?"

"magic."

"Then I use the same response as my answer."

"humans don't have magic."

"On the contrary, you told me that human souls hold magic."

"and what if I was lyin'?"

"Then are you truly a trustworthy person?" Damn it! How were you so quick on your feet?! He had never met someone he actually had to  _try_ to outwit!

It was infuriating.

........And attractive.

'slow down there Sans...' He groaned mentally, rubbing at the top of his skull in the silence that had fallen as you tugged at a lock of silver hair that just always seemed to end up hanging in front of your shoulder. As nonchalantly as he could manage, he ran his eye lights over your frame with the same amount of frustration and intrigue that he had been feeling build over the past few weeks now behind his gaze.

You had let the silence reign for a while as your eye stared in the direction of the thick forest opposite of the two of you, listening to the artificial winter breeze whistle through pine needles. If he wasn't as good as he was at noticing very fine details, he definitely never would have caught how your default expression had defrosted (in a very minimal way) since when you two had first met. In fact, ever since then, he had never seen you lose your composure above a 3 (except when food was involved)-in hilarity or anger. He wondered why; that crippling laugh you gave at his prank/greeting was even better than when he had heard Toriel laugh at his jokes for the first time. Joyous and hysterical, tears running down your face, and boisterous yet delicate as though it was hardly used.

He wanted to hear it again.

At least ten minutes since his rather rude wake-up call had passed at this point. You were still silent. He was finding it strange since he figured you'd be coming in guns blazing with questions. Perhaps you were daydreaming again. It wouldn't be the first time he had seen you with your mind somewhere else.

He wondered what you were thinking.

"Hey. Sans?"

"hm?"

"How do plants and trees grow down here?" Ah. Question answered.

"m'not sure kiddo. i do know that someone long ago had used magic to let seeds sprout down here. someone who had seen the surface before we were all trapped down here wanted us to know what trees looked like and sorta messed with... genes? i think that's what they're called... anyway, they made some sort of seeds and helped them grow around down here."

"That's amazing..."

"eh, it's alright."

"Hm."

Silence fell again. 

Another ten minutes passed. You started drumming your fingertips on the wooden surface of the counter.

He began to wonder if you really were daydreaming, or were just waiting for him to bring up what he wanted to talk about. He scratched at his brow as he tried to think of a good way to start the conversation. His mind was sort of drawing a blank... Like, this wasn't exactly a kosher talk. How could he bring this up?!

 _heya kid. i just wanted to let you know that i don't like the fact that you're taking up a lot of my thinking space; yer driving me crazy here. so i wanted to know more about ya to get you off my mind. nothin' too intrusive,_ _just basic stuff such as likes, dislikes, reasons why you and my brother get along so well, and why you seem sort of distant towards me, maybe a little bit about your surface life, things like that._

Yeah, that would totally go over well.

.......

.........................

You cleared your throat quietly, starting to swing your legs. "Ah... So, uh..."

"...yeah?"

".....How's uh... work gone so far?"

"nothin' bad... nothin' at all actually. like i said when i called you earlier- nothing really happens around here. gets pretty boring when you've been doing this as long as I have, you know."

"Heh, so you really were  _bonely?_ "

This time, he couldn't help but chuckle in response. "you already used that one kid."

"I shall continue to throw your words right back at you by quoting this lazy little gem," You raised your hands with a smirk and performed air-quotes, "'You run out of material eventually'. Isn't that right?"

Holy Asgore. How the hell do you manage to do that _every single time?!_

"oh... huh. i guess i did say that..."

"Indeed you did."

Silence then falls for the third time.

And this silence.

Is absolutely.

Maddening.

You seemed totally adamant in making him start the true conversation.

Maybe if he just remained quiet, the universe would take pity on him.

.............

Apparently not, because at about the twenty-five-minute mark of the two of you just sitting there in an awkward silence, you finally decided enough was enough.

"Okay, Sans, while I totally respect you and your mysterious, enigmatic ways, this is kind of ridiculous." He glanced up in slight surprise at your miffed tone, his eyelights shrinking a bit as you gave him a deadpan. "Now I know Patience is a virtue as well as a soul trait, but it's not something I have much of dude. Especially since you have me sitting here in the cold, and I have no gloves." You flashed your bare hands with a grimace, raising your only showing brow in a questioning manner. "I understand if you can't feel it and all, but the necessary skin that I was born with is kinda making me suffer right now."

Oh yeah... Beings with skin were sensitive to the cold... Right.

"s-sorry bud. just trying ta... think of how to say this..."

"Just say it bone boy. There's truly nothing that you can say right now that can really piss me off; I mean, we don't even know each other that well."

"er... well, i...i..."

"Woah." Glancing over to you, he blinked upon seeing a... concerned look pointed towards him. "You're sweating up a storm Sans..." Pulling the sleeve of your blue sweater over your hand, you reached out to gently wipe away the magical moisture on his cranium. The feeling of the soft fabric passing over his skull sent a small tremor through his bones. "Is it really that bad? We can always talk later if you need more time or something."

"no no no no, a lazybones like me will forget if i don't talk about this now."

"You sure...?" You murmured softly as you rounded the station in order to sit on the edge of the wooden seat and glancing over with a small frown. "I guess I can be a little more patient then..."

"thanks..." He would not tell you that he felt the loss of your touch (however indirect); He forbade himself from figuratively opening his big mouth and making that blunder. "uh, so... anythin' else you wanna know or talk about?"

"Oh, well, yeah! I've got plenty of questions actually, ever since I blew in from the RUINS... Mom liked helping me learn, but some things she sorta avoided. I can understand why, but..." You glanced to the ground with a soft sigh, gripping at your arms. "If it involves the wellbeing of others, I don't want to remain ignorant..."

"you care." He breathed as he rested his skull in his palm, and watched you out of the corner of his eye socket. "you may say you don't, but you really do."

"Of course I care about others... I'm not soulless you kn- err... Jesus, it's just an expression dude, don't look at me like that." You huffed lightly at the bothered look he shot you. "I just don't care about myself."

You didn't notice how his eternal grin slipped just a bit.

"...so... that question...?"

"Um... Alright, uh, who's Undyne? Papyrus kept telling me he's good friends with someone named Undyne. He's mentioned her name a lot of times, even that day when we had our formal dance battle. He says she taught him to fight. But when I asked if I could meet her, he got all... evasive and weird. Why is that?" Damn it, he should have seen this question coming sooner or later. Though he didn't know exactly  _why_ humans needed to be captured, apparently even his brother had the sense to realize that Undyne was hazardous for your health and knew it was best to keep the knowledge of your existence secret.

Hopefully you would understand that.

"undyne's the captain of the royal guard... she's really strong, and the hero of the underground too. it's probably best if the two of you never meet. ever." Your inquisitive expression prompted him to explain his reasoning. "she's dangerous to humans kiddo. the two of you meet, and someone won't be walking away alive."

"Oh..." You blinked slowly at the sheer bluntness of his statement. "And she lives in Waterfall."

"eeeyup."

"So by extension, I shouldn't ever go to Waterfall."

"eeeyup." You stared at him for a while before your eye suddenly gained a peculiar gleam to it.

Oh no. He knew that look.

That was straight Determination in your eye.

"don't even think about it." The innocent look that you were trying to pull off wasn't fooling him. "i'm serious. curiosity shouldn't matter over your life, i don't care if you had been stuck in snowdin for a _year_. unless you have a death wish, don't you do it."

"Well, actually, now that you mention it-"

"okay, there's a limit to even what  _i_ find funny, and that's pushin' it."

"Who said it was a joke though?" Slightly worrying... And morbid.

"bud, i will personally tell papyrus about whatever you are planning, and we will  _watch_ you."

"You seem to underestimate me and my vanishing skills."

"listen, i'm not one for promising anything, but i swear on my dust- i  w i l l  n o t  l e t  y o u  j u s t  g o  s k i p p i n g  t o  y o u r  d e a t h.   **G o t  m e?** " He shot you his 'void glare' with a threatening grin, his phalanges tightly clutching the wood of the station before he let his eye-lights phase back into sight. "now, next question."

"Fine, fine, _damn_." You grumbled heatedly in response, but he noticed how you scooted away _juuust_ a little. While regrettable, he would not apologize for it. "So... you said the color of a soul tells what trait the person mainly displays, right?" He nodded in response, sitting up just a little as he made sure to pay attention. "I know that monsters' souls are white, which stands for love and compassion if that book in the library was right... Are there any other traits besides the seven you told me before?"

"sorry to say i can't exactly answer that buddo." You leaned onto the counter of the station and rested your face on your hands, gazing at him in interest. "very few monsters have ever seen a human; we only know what the elders have passed down to us. and every one that's fallen was a kid. which only had one color to their soul, and they were always one of those seven." He shrugged, letting his smile quirk up to the side as he analyzed your thoughtful expression. "you're the first adult human that ever fell, and the first human we've seen that's had more than one main color. not to mention that they're colors we've never seen before. well we've seen grey before, but never a soul that was completely grey like yours and it had a different feel to it too... so while your soul is probably proof that there's more than those main seven, i can't really tell you what they mean."

"What do you mean when you say 'different'?"

"well, to tell you the truth, not all of the humans that fell were full of cheer kid..." His gaze went to his hands, but he obviously wasn't studying the bones he knew by heart. "some of them were pretty damaged... like yours. some cracked, a little withered in some places... greyed out spots on the surface." Sans twitched slightly at the sound of your quiet inhale. "cracks meant outside harm was inflicted. withered meant they weren't getting what they needed to stay healthy. greyed out spots... those meant that they were losing themselves. the duller the color of their soul, the less likely they were going to display their main trait. they were quiet, and would react to certain things differently than you'd expect. sometimes they just didn't even care."

"...I see..." He watched as your face fell, a hand coming up to clutch at the place you knew your soul resided. "So I guess... I really am damaged. Broken, even..."

He knew that look, that tone. It was the same self-deprecation that regarded himself with. You were questioning your existence.

He didn't need to think twice about pulling the break on that train.

"nonononono- bud, remember when i said you were different?" Seeing you peek out of the corner of your eye at him, he quickly continued with his explanation. "i said that their colors were greyed out. meaning some of the color was still there, but it was muddy, hard to see, and pretty dim. but your soul... while it may have cracks, it's a  _pure_ grey." Your lips turned down in your confusion, and he rubbed the back of his cervical vertebra as he tried to think of his next words carefully. "your grey is... brighter. and it... doesn't really stay still? not sure how to explain it... s'not solid y'know? some parts are darker and some are lighter, and those parts keep swirling around each other. but your soul still glows, not like the grey that some of the other humans ever had..."

"Because there's more than one shade of grey..." He didn't exactly understand why, but he was relieved that what you had muttered to yourself seemed to clear your face of all self-hate. "I get it... So I'm kind of... a curveball in many ways, aren't I...?" He idly thought of how that was the biggest understatement he had ever heard before you opened up with another question. "Moving on then... You once told me red is Determination and purple is Perseverance. Can you tell me what the main difference between those traits are?"

"the color." You shot him a deadpan glare, to which he chuckled and raised his hands in a pacifying manner. If you were looking at him like that, it meant you weren't feeling so down and that was enough for him. "kidding, kidding! okay, so the difference is the way they go about things. determined people have the strength to hold on like those who persevere, but people who're determined try to change tough situations so it will benefit them. the ones that persevere accept what's happened and push on, trying to make the best of what they're given." Your eye lit up with understanding, and you lifted your hands to hit a fist into your palm.

"So Perseverance is like Determination, but they're less likely to do something morally unsavory in order to benefit themselves!" He nodded, amusement running rampant in his gaze as you exclaimed as if you had made a breakthrough of some kind. "That makes so much sense! So Perseverance is like Determination and Integrity combined! Just like the colors!"

He blinked a bit in response, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "...i don't think i follow."

"You know, the color wheel. Primary colors, Secondary colors, Tertiary colors, etcetera."

"uh..."

"The Color Wheel, Sans. How colors are made? Ring any bells?"

"sorry if i seem stupid right now, but i have no idea what the color wheel is."

The look on your face would have made a bystander think that he said magic wasn't real.

"What?! B-but...! That's the first thing you learn in a basic art class! How do you  _not_ know what The Color Wheel is!?"

"whoa there kiddo, calm down." He couldn't help but snicker at your bewildered expression as he reached out to you in a pacifying manner. "art isn't exactly a norm down here you know. trust me, i know everybody, and out of the whole underground, only two monsters can actually draw well."

"...I am appalled. Insulted even!" Lights brightened in his sockets as you got even more riled up, practically hissing in your shock. "I mean, this is Color Theory we're talking about here! The hell?!"

"and do tell, what exactly is color theory? enlighten this bonehead." While not prepared for the rant that particular combination of words would invite, the entertainment of it was well worth his metaphorical ear being talked off. Seeing you so excited.... He had a feeling it was as rare as this particular timeline.

And for some reason as he watched your animated gestures and excited language, he couldn't help but think--

_isn't she adorable?_

"Yo bonehead!" Coming out of his reverie with a shocked sound, he blinked as he realized you were waving a hand in his face. "You still listenin'?"

"a-aah, yea, course i am."

"....You're lying."

"am not."

"Then repeat the last thing I said." He froze in place as an immediate blank came to mind, flashing a sheepish grin as you gave a snort of amusement at his telling expression. "That's what I thought. Why ask me what Color Theory is if you aren't going to listen?"

"but i was listening!"

"Don't feed me that bull, I  _just_ caught you spacing out!"

"that's because... well..." Knowing you would be able to sense if he was lying, he looked down at his hands and steeled himself for the worst possible reaction, "i... thought you were kinda cute when you were all excited like that."

........

Oh silence, you basic bitch. Why must you torture him so?

'great. now she probably thinks i'm a total weirdo who has a fetish for humans or something.' Sans lamented in his head as he felt his cheekbones heat up with his magic. 'but why does she have to be so quiet...?! come on, cuss me out if you're going to already...'

"S-Sorry about that, I guess I got ahead of myself... But you obviously have no idea what you're talking about." Your gentle voice uttered finally, sounding so dull and quiet that he had to look up, and when he did--

Hoo boy.

That blush.

_That **goddamned** blush!_

It should have been a sin to look as cute as you did at that moment!

Eye averted elsewhere, lips pulled into a soft, almost unnoticeable pout, your dark skin doing absolutely nothing to hide the pretty red blush flaring across your cheeks (much to your immense dismay, it seemed), and you were nervously picking at a stray string on your jacket sleeve as you tried your best to hide your face behind your long hair.

_Sweet Stars and Stones....._

As lazy as Sans may be, whenever it came to puns and teasing, he was an opportunist.

And even though the line between curiosity and a crush was extremely blurred in his mind, he couldn't help but fuck it up further.

"you've got a lot of a primary color on your cheeks kid." He snickered as you tossed him a horrified look, realizing what was about to happen.

"Oh no."

"you know, once a box of crayola crayons fell down here. they had this crayon that was my favorite color, it's called blizzard blue. i never knew why it was my favorite but i just figured it out." Sans winked, shooting a finger gun at you. "it's the color of your eye."

"Sans, no..." You grimaced as if something nasty hit your tongue, but the deepening of the blush on your face was telling something completely different. "Don't."

"if i could be a blue attack, i would because it'd make you stay still and i could stare at you longer."

"Noooo...." You groaned in mortification, grabbing at your hood and pulling it up to hide your face. "Staaaahp...."

"you got plenty of red and blue on you already, all you need is yellow and you can make all of the secondary colors."

"Hnnnnnnngh!!" A muffled scream of emotional pain emanated from where your face was hidden by your hood and hands; he was sure his grin had widened to the zenith of shit-eating levels.

"i thought your jacket was looking pretty grey today. guess your eye stole all the pretty blue from it."

"THAT'S IT!" You slammed your hands down on the wooden surface before jumping up, steam pouring from your hoodie as you started to speed walk back towards the direction of Snowdin. "I AM LEAVING!"

"w-wait, pffft- c'mon, haha, don't leave!" While chuckling away under his breath, he hopped up and began trotting after you. "you didn't even last as long as paps that time, i thought you could take a joke!"

"I definitely could if those were even jokes!" You rasped in a clipped tone, marching forward as if on a mission and not even glancing back. "But they weren't!"

"and-pfff-how do you know?"

"I just do!"

"then tell me, o wise one, what were they if they were not jokes?" The tickled blue skeleton skid to a stop as you rounded on him with a growl, his eye-lights dancing with delight as you glared down at his face with an incredibly peeved stare.

"I know what you're doing, Sans the Skeleton..." You hissed out, your fingers twitching in your agitation. "And I'm not falling for it."

"i don't know what you mean~."

"You know damn well what I mean!" Your pretty face twisted up in a snarl, and Sans was trying his damndest to not break out in hysterical laughter. Like wow. Who knew it was this easy to fluster you?

"alright, alright, i'll stop, let's not melt the snow around us." You grunted irritably as he grabbed you by the hand and began pulling you back to the sentry station as he sniggered under his breath. He could literally see your soul roiling with irascibility. "just calm down."

"Easy for you to say, you ass."

"but i don't have one."

"Doesn't mean you aren't one." You muttered as you situated yourself to sit on top of the station counter.

"how was i supposed to know you don't take compliments well?"

"What I said three weeks ago should have been enough of a hint!"

"bud, i can't even remember what i had for breakfast two days ago." Your eye twitched as he stood in front of you, his grin way too smug. "mind reminding me?"

"I've never been on a date Sans. By extension, I've never had a significant other. Or even someone who had a crush on me. So no, it's hard to believe someone is actually giving me, as Paps would say, a genuine compliment."

.....Were all humans near Ebott on the surface blind? How come no one tried to snag this woman in front of him at all?!

"sooo, you've never wanted a relationship then?" The indecipherable expression he gained in return made him twitch.

".....I don't think I know you well enough to want to talk about  _that_."

"...okay, well, i suppose this leads well into what i needed to talk to you about in the first place." Sans took a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets nervously. He shifted from foot to foot as your gaze turned extremely interested in a snap. "look, you've been around for a while now, and you've been living with me and my bro all this time... and to be honest, we haven't exactly been the best of friends since you showed up, have we?" A soft sound of what he believed was agreement sounded from you as you crossed your legs indian style, looking a bit regretful.

"so, uh... how about we fix that?"

"...What do you suggest?"

"there's an event that's going on at grillby's later- s'called dance night." He knew by the brightening of your eye that this proposal was practically a shoe-in. "a lot of monsters in snowdin show up and enjoy themselves. the two of us could go there tonight and just... talk."

"You mean... We ask each other questions and get to know each other better?"

"yeah. exactly like that."

"...Heh, it took you long enough to finally bring this up. Paps said you were getting kinda curious," Oh damn it Papyrus... "But, you know what, I think that sounds like a pretty good idea." His breath stopped for a quick moment before an inner victory party exploded within his skull, but outside he merely showed his pleasure with a wide, genuine grin. "But here's the thing Sans. If you're going to ask me... personal questions, there's gonna be some rules." He blinked as you tossed him a warning look. "One... Please stop calling me kid. I understand that it's probably a habit and all, but... C'mon dude. I call you by your name. And I'm obviously not a kid." You gestured to yourself with a raised brow, and Sans was ashamed to say he found himself nodding in total agreement.

"okay, okay, i can try. anythin' else?"

"Yeah. You see, I'm kinda curious about you too. So if you're gonna ask me some deep questions, it's only fair I get to do the same. And, because I'm sure you too have some things you'd like to keep buried, we both can pass questions we really don't want to answer. Deal?"

"deal." Sans was sure this was the best scenario he could get in this particular situation. "that's pretty fair."

"Good. How long do you have until you get off?"

"couple o' hours."

"Welp, I'll be heading back then." The white ovals in his sockets shrunk slightly as he watched you hop off the station counter.

"aw, c'mon k- girly, can't you stay longer for this old bag of bones?"

"Temptin', but no dice. I still don't have gloves, and I have to get ready for 'Dance Night'. Reserve a nice private seat with Grillby ahead of time and all that." You chuckled at his probably disappointed expression as you turned on your heel and began walking away. "Oh, and Sans?"

"yeah?"

"This whole situation... Sounds like we're planning a first date, huh?"

As you walked away with a loud snicker, his skull flushed a deep royal blue.

This was NOT a date. He'd be super anxious if it was.

* * *

 

Damn you.

He couldn't get that last sentence out of his head.

Sans was not anxious.

He was not.

He was as calm as calm could be.

No joke.

....It would probably be super rude to show up late to something he had suggested, wouldn't it? Should he be early or on time...?

No, Sans, _chill._ Just take a deep breath...

There was nothing to be nervous over.

He was just about to get some questions answered, that's all.

And talk about himself too...

It wasn't like as soon as he got off work he teleported home and hurried into his room in a rush. Nope. That wasn't like him after all.

It also wasn't like he actually changed from his old ratty everyday clothes into something a little more presentable. He also didn't go digging through his closet for a full twenty minutes to find those clean clothes- a far cry from the mere seconds it usually took to throw on whatever he had lying on the floor. They looked almost exactly the same, but the seams on these pair of sweats and sweater weren't worn and slightly undone, which dictated the fact that they weren't worn as often.

After  _not_ looking into his mirror for a long moment until he approved of his appearance, he simply blipped into the living room because he was too jittery to take the stairs.

As a result, he scared the hell out of his brother when he had suddenly popped into reality next to him.

Whoops.

"SANS!" The comedian would have definitely laughed at his brother's expression if the current situation hadn't temporarily robbed him of his sense of humor. "YOU CAN'T JUST TELEPORT EVERYWHERE IN SUCH A WAY LAZYBONES!"

"heh, uh, sorry bro." Sans' grin stretched thinly in his nervousness. "didn't mean to frighten ya."

"I-I WAS NOT SCARED! I HAD... SIMPLY JUMPED FOR MY HEALTH!" He chuckled and nodded for his brother's benefit, flopping onto the couch and taking a deep breath to gain some semblance of tranquility. His magic nervously coursing through his bones wasn't helping his non-existent nerves any either. Using Papyrus' prompt exit to the kitchen as a cover, he glanced around, wondering why there wasn't a snarky female voice amusedly remarking on his entrance.

Ah. That was why.

You weren't here.

"hey, bro?" Raising his voice, he called to his brother, much too lazy to get up now that he was laying down, "where's the ki-... i mean, girly?" Papyrus made a soft sound of confusion before he answered cheerfully.

"OH! DID YOU MEAN OLIVIA BROTHER?" Gaining an affirmative grunt in reply, a disgruntled expression took the tall skeleton's face. "SHE MADE IT KNOWN TO ME THAT SHE WOULD BE SPENDING THE REST OF THE DAY AT GRILLBY'S AND WOULD NOT BE JOINING US FOR DINNER. SHE TOLD ME SHE WOULD BE MEETING SOMEONE THERE AND GRILLBY NEEDED HER ASSISTANCE WITH SOMETHING AS WELL." There was something there. Light, barely noticeable, but still present. Sans was sure if he didn't know his brother down to the _bone,_ he definitely wouldn't have noticed that something in Papyrus' voice sounded... off. What was that about? "HOWEVER, SHE ASSURED ME THAT IT WAS NOT TO AVOID MY COOKING OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT." Sans nodded absently in reply, releasing a soft hum.

"got any idea what grillbz needed her for?"

"I AM AFRAID NOT SANS. I DID NOT THINK TO ASK AND SHE DID NOT OFFER THE REASON." Huh. Well, he was going to find out soon enough. "THOUGH TRULY I AM BAFFLED THAT ANYONE WOULD TAKE SOMEONE TO THAT GREASE TRAP FOR A DATE. IT IS AN EXTREMELY UNHEALTHY DECISION."

"true, tru- woah wait what?  _date?_ " Sans' skull twisted around so fast, it was a wonder his cervical vertebrae didn't snap with the force. "she told you she was going on a  _date?_ "

"WELL, OF  _COURSE_ NOT! OLIVIA MAY SEEM LIKE A CALM INDIVIDUAL BROTHER, BUT SHE IS A TRULY SUBTLE AND SHY CREATURE!" Tension quickly fled his magic at that, though he was ashamed to feel the feeling of jealousy wriggling around in his chest cavity at the sound of familiarity his brother held in his tone. "SHE MAY NOT HAVE SAID ANYTHING VERBALLY BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NOTICED SHE SEEMED UNUSUALLY NERVOUS THIS DAY WHEN I ARRIVED HOME. SHE WAS FIDGETY, JUMPY, SHE HAD SPENT SEVERAL MINUTES IN THE BATHROOM AND WHEN SHE FINALLY CAME OUT SHE WAS DRESSED IN A... RATHER NICE OUTFIT THAT I HAD NOT SEEN BEFORE. WHEN SHE WALKED OUT THE DOOR SHE LOOKED LIKE A FRIGHTENED ANIMAL!"

Oh.

Huh. Well, that made him feel better about his own anxiety, he wasn't gonna lie.

"heh. don't think she's goin' on a date pap."

The reply was prompt and sassy. "AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT SANS?"

"'cause." Sans answered as nonchalantly as possible, trying to make his words seem utterly unimportant, "i'm the one she's meetin'."

Needless to say, it didn't work.

" _WHAT?!_ " Sans cringed at the emphasized shout, which only deepened as the cacophonous din of pans meeting the tile floor nicely punctuated it. "YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH OLIVIA?!?!"

"n-nah bro, you got it all wrong!" Sans was now sitting up and waving his hands frantically as Papyrus sped into the living room with an absolutely  _gobsmacked_ expression on his face. "it's not a date, just a hang-out! y'anno, just enjoyin' burgs and stuff..."

"DO NOT ATTEMPT TO JAPE ME, BROTHER! I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU SHOWED UP!" Under Papyrus' judging stare, Sans was starting to understand how you felt when you believed he was staring at your soul.

He didn't particularly like that feeling.

"YOU CHANGED YOUR CLOTHING. I CAN TELL AS THE USUAL STENCH THAT CLINGS TO YOUR CLOTHES IS NOT LINGERING IN THE AIR, AND THE DESIGNS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT." Papyrus crossed his arms suspiciously, his eye sockets narrowing at his brother's sweaty light blue-stained expression. "YOU HARDLY EVER CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT IF YOU WEREN'T PREPARING FOR A DATE?"

"i just got tired of the stink on the clothes like you said bro, that's all..."

"REALLY." Why, oh  _why_ was it today that Papyrus was paying attention to the details?

"y-yeah." Fuck, at least _sound_ confident idiot! The skellyroll's sockets narrowed further before they flickered down to his shoes.

"YOU ACTUALLY TIED YOUR SHOES SANS." Sans' eye sockets widened as he turned his gaze down as well and... Oh. Welp.

"oh heh, i uh... didn't even notice..." A deep sigh was released from Papyrus' throat.

_"BROTHER..."_

"look pap, i'm promising you it's not what you think." Sans rubbed the back of his cervical vertebrae with a smiling grimace as he stood to face the taller skeleton. "remember what you said to me a little while ago when i kept asking about her? that if I wanted to know more about 'er, i should just ask 'er?"

"YES...?"

"well, i took your advice. i told her i wanted to know a little bit more about her. she said that she'd answer some of my questions, but only if she got to ask some things about me," He shrugged as he released a soft sigh. "and i agreed. so we decided to meet up at grillby's today, that's all."

There was deep silence as Papyrus regarded his brother with an unfathomable expression, and just as he was starting to get worried, a cheery expression broke through like sunshine through rain clouds as he hit his fist into his palm. "OH, I SEE! LIKE AN EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION!"

Nothing could cover Sans' sigh of relief. "exactly like that bro."

"HM, I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES MORE SENSE THAN THE IDEA OF TWO OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE GOING ON A DATE... I CAN'T REALLY IMAGINE YOU GOING ON A DATE, TO BE VERY HONEST."

"course not bro. I'm not really looking for somethin' like that. besides," A large grin took the place of the nervous one, "i don't have any clothes that are _boyfriend material_."

"SANS. NO." He snickered at the absolutely scandalized expression on his brother's face. "GOOD THING IT ISN'T A DATE; YOU'D RUN HER OFF WITH YOUR PUNS!"

"dunno about that paps, she's pretty _punny_ herself after all." Papyrus looked like he was debating on throwing Sans out the door before he sighed, lifting a hand to run it down his face.

"AND TO THINK I WAS ABOUT TO COOK A DELICIOUS MEAL FOR ALL THREE OF US... IT WILL JUST BE ME BY MYSELF SO THERE IS NO POINT OF COOKING. I HAD WANTED TO TRY OUT A NEW RECIPE WITH OLIVIA." It was impossible to hide his cringe of guilt, but this was just something he had to do. It was okay not to relent to his brother this one time...

Right?

"so sorry bro... tomorrow we can all take a day off and stay home, kay? we can all cook together then."

"HMPH, LIKE YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING!" He laughed quietly, before shaking his head.

"nah, nah, i'm serious. i'll even make a quiche and stuff. me and girly will make it up to ya."

"I SHALL BE HOLDING YOU TO THAT SANS!" Papyrus seemed absolutely thrilled that his lazybones of a brother was actually offering to do  _any_ amount of work. "WILL YOU BE BACK IN TIME TO READ ME MY BED-TIME STORY?"

"always paps. i'd never flake from that."

"WELL THEN, OLIVIA IS WAITING FOR YOU! DO NOT KEEP HER WAITING!"

"you're right, you're right. i'll be headin' out then." The smaller skeleton took a deep breath before heading towards the door, tossing a wave behind him. "see you later bro."

"HAVE A GOOD TIME BROTHER!"

Sans was not aware of the conflicted gaze pointed at his back as he walked back out into the cold air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My longest....chapter....ever.
> 
> Romantic interests will be furthered even more next chapter!
> 
> You are welcome!


	20. About this fic....

.............  
  
For all the readers that have been interested in this story, I am very sorry, but I am no longer happy with this.  
  
I am planning to scrap it.

But instead of just deleting it forever... I'm going to start it over. Make it better as it were.  
  
So, again, I am very sorry for the inconvenience this may cause... But the idea is not abandoned.

Thank you for your understanding,  
  
  


_Optima-chama_


	21. Remake is up!

Just like the title says lovelies. I have recently put up the first chapter to the remake of this fic.

 

This one, therefore, shall be deleted pretty soon. I'm sad to see it go, but the new one shall be better.

 

Thank you for your understanding.

 

Oh, here is the link for the remake by the way: [Remake Link](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11078571/chapters/24710610)


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